US red-faced at loss of N-missile parts
20/6/08;
The US military has lost hundreds of sensitive nuclear missile components, in the latest embarrassment for the Pentagon, London’s Financial Times reported last night. Citing US officials familiar with a Pentagon report, the British daily newspaper said in an online report that the US air force could not account for many sensitive components in its nuclear inventory. One official put the number at more than 1000.The embarrassing loss comes after blunders in which live nuclear warheads were transported across the US, and an accidental shipment of nuclear triggers was sent to Taiwan. A senior US official said the report had “identified issues about record-keeping” for nuclear missile components. There was no suggestion they could have ended up in countries that should not have received them.
The Australian; No Internet Text; Financial Times; AFP
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates this month sacked the air force’s civilian secretary and chief of staff, blaming them for two major blunders that shook confidence in US control over its nuclear arsenal.
Mr Gates said “a substantial number” of generals and colonels also faced possible disciplinary action as a result of an investigation into the mistaken shipment of fuses for nuclear weapons to Taiwan. The Taiwan incident, and the accidental flight of nuclear-armed cruise missiles from one US air base to another last year, were symptoms of a decline in the air force’s standards and focus, Mr Gates said at the time.
Daryl Kimball, head of the Arms Control Association in Washington, said the latest revelation was “very significant and extremely troubling” because it showed the Pentagon was not in control of its resources.” “It raises a serious question about where else these unaccounted-for warhead-related parts may have gone,” he told the Financial Times. “I would not be surprised if the recent Taiwan incident is not the only one.”
A spokesman for the US National Security Council declined to comment on the reportedly mislaid components. “The White House has confidence that Secretary Gates, through his actions with the air force, is addressing all of these issues,” security council spokesman Gordon Johndroe told the Financial Times.