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U.S. bombs remain in Europe
The Washington Times ^
| 4/22/2010
| Charles J. Hanley
Posted on 05/11/2010 9:09:10 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Unseen beyond the grazing Holsteins and rolling pastures of eastern Belgium, the 12-foot-long tapered metal cylinders sit in their underground vaults, waiting for the doomsday call that never came. Each packs the power of many Hiroshimas.
America's oldest nuclear weapons -- unwanted, outdated, a legacy of the 20th century -- are now the focus of a political struggle that could shake the NATO alliance in the 21st.
The questions hanging over the B-61 bombs, an estimated 200 of them on six air bases across Europe, relate to not just why they're still here but how safe and secure they are.
For one thing, al Qaeda terrorists already have targeted this Belgian air base 52 miles northeast of Brussels. For another, U.S. Air Force inspectors found inadequate security at most of the six sites. And three months ago a "bombspotter" team, anti-nuclear activists, penetrated nearly a half-mile inside Kleine Brogel, reaching its innermost bunkers.
"It was a shock," Theo Kelchtermans, mayor of the neighboring town of Peer, said of the protesters' infiltration, which went unchallenged for an hour. His bottom line: "I hope these bombs will disappear."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: atomicbombs; b61; europe; nato; nuclearweapons; westerneurope
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To: null and void
DOE is a very important agency and they know they are scrutized very carefully.
21
posted on
05/11/2010 10:17:27 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
To: null and void
They are always under the microscope because of the type of work they are involved.
22
posted on
05/11/2010 10:19:06 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
To: sonofstrangelove
I'm sure they are.
23
posted on
05/11/2010 10:19:31 PM PDT
by
null and void
(We are now in day 474 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
To: null and void
Now they are really under the microscope.
24
posted on
05/11/2010 10:20:23 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
To: sonofstrangelove
Yes. The adults are in charge. </richter scale irony>
25
posted on
05/11/2010 10:24:05 PM PDT
by
null and void
(We are now in day 474 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
To: sonofstrangelove
Disassemble should be easy - looks no more difficult than a modern V8 engine with transmission. Assembly could be tough, but that’s not the concern; don’t need a full “bomb” for a suitcase nuke...
26
posted on
05/11/2010 10:24:07 PM PDT
by
PugetSoundSoldier
(Indignation over the Sting of Truth is the defense of the indefensible)
To: PugetSoundSoldier
There are a few nasty surprises if you do it wrong.
27
posted on
05/11/2010 10:24:56 PM PDT
by
null and void
(We are now in day 474 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
To: PugetSoundSoldier
Sure its easy-if you want to blow yourself and irradiate everyone within s 100 miles radius.
28
posted on
05/11/2010 10:25:15 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
To: PugetSoundSoldier
29
posted on
05/11/2010 10:25:46 PM PDT
by
null and void
(We are now in day 474 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
To: sonofstrangelove
No problem. Do the disassembly-by-suicide-bomber upwind and 50 miles from your intended target.
30
posted on
05/11/2010 10:27:09 PM PDT
by
null and void
(We are now in day 474 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
To: null and void
I not even sure they know where to start. It does not come with an owners manual.
31
posted on
05/11/2010 10:28:30 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
To: sonofstrangelove
All those plans are guarded in some mainframe in Los Alamos.During the Clinton Regime, at Los Alamos a hard drive with NEST data on the arsenal went 'missing' for a while, and was allegedly later found behind the Xerox machine.
This was about the same time the Loral and Hughes deals went down and Algore was taking donations from Maria Hsia (sp?) at the Buddhist temple...
32
posted on
05/11/2010 10:30:40 PM PDT
by
Smokin' Joe
(How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
To: Smokin' Joe
A lot has happened in 15 years.
33
posted on
05/11/2010 10:31:03 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
To: Smokin' Joe
Has a lot has happened in 15 years and 8 years of George Bush?
34
posted on
05/11/2010 10:32:48 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
To: sonofstrangelove
Yes it has. The big stir was over the MK88 during the Clinton ers. How old is the B61 design?
35
posted on
05/11/2010 10:33:32 PM PDT
by
Smokin' Joe
(How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
To: Smokin' Joe
Designed in 1961, went into production in 1968
36
posted on
05/11/2010 10:35:50 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
To: sonofstrangelove
We hope! After the clinton years and all the spies we caught, I’m not completely sanguine that far more didn’t leak out than we’ll ever know.
I wouldn’t be completely astonished to find out that we had deliberately shared details of our safeing and PAL mechanisms with Russian and China, in the interests of making their weapons “less likely to catastrophically fail and trigger a war”.
37
posted on
05/11/2010 10:36:49 PM PDT
by
null and void
(We are now in day 474 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
To: null and void
All PAL designed in America stays here.
38
posted on
05/11/2010 10:37:49 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
To: Smokin' Joe
Hmmmm. NEST needs to know how to disarm a warhead.
39
posted on
05/11/2010 10:38:21 PM PDT
by
null and void
(We are now in day 474 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
To: null and void
The Chinese and Russians have “designed” their own more or less.
40
posted on
05/11/2010 10:38:57 PM PDT
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread:-General Heinz Guderian)
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