Kinda like Abu Ghraib?

Where the low ranking officers get punished but not the people who were responsible for the action itself?

Washington, DC (AHN) - The U.S. Air Force plans to relieve four officers of duty after an incident where six nuclear-armed cruise missiles were lost. The missiles were flown across the the country in a B-52 bomber.

More than 60 Air Force personnel have had their nuclear security clearances taken away because of the incident. Defense Department officials say procedures for handling such missiles were not followed.

The cruise missiles were supposed to be carrying dummy warheads and were to have been transferred from North Dakota's Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

Six of the missiles, though, had nuclear warheads with more than 50 times the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The missiles also reportedly sat in the plane for hours before the mistake was discovered.

Or are these officers being punished only because the story was leaked to the press? Have the higher-ups answered the question as to WHY they were being shifted in the first place against international law? Does this have anything to do with Cheney and Iran?

Questions need to be asked

About the B-52 with nukes.



Larry Johnson of TPM Cafe:

Barksdale Air Force Base is being used as a jumping off point for Middle East operations. Gee, why would we want cruise missile nukes at Barksdale Air Force Base. Can’t imagine we would need to use them in Iraq. Why would we want to preposition nuclear weapons at a base conducting Middle East operations?

His final point was to observe that someone on the inside obviously leaked the info that the planes were carrying nukes. A B-52 landing at Barksdale is a non-event. A B-52 landing with nukes. That is something else.

Now maybe there is an innocent explanation for this? I can’t think of one. What is certain is that the pilots of this plane did not just make a last minute decision to strap on some nukes and take them for a joy ride. We need some tough questions and clear answers. What the hell is going on? Did someone at Barksdale try to indirectly warn the American people that the Bush Administration is staging nukes for Iran? I don’t know, but it is a question worth asking.

Is anyone in Congress going to stop this seemingly inevitable war with Iran? Anyone brave enough to say no to Bush and Cheney and the Neocon agenda? Anyone?