U.S. Nuclear Weapons Parts Missing, Pentagon Says
The U.S. military cannot locate hundreds of sensitive nuclear missile components, according to several government officials familiar with a Pentagon report on nuclear safeguards. Robert Gates, U.S. defense secretary, recently fired both the U.S. Air Force chief of staff and Air Force secretary after an investigation blamed the Air Force for the “inadvertent” shipment of nuclear missile nose cones to Taiwan (though “inadvertently sent, missiles remain in Taiwan). According to previously undisclosed details, the investigation also concluded that the Air Force could not account for many sensitive components previously included in its nuclear inventory.
One official said the number of missing components was more than 1,000.
The disclosure is the latest embarrassing episode for the Air Force, which last year had to explain how a bomber “mistakenly” carried six nuclear missiles across the U.S. The incidents have raised concerns about U.S. nuclear safeguards as Washington presses other countries to bolster counter-proliferation measures.
In announcing the departure of the top air force officials earlier this month, Mr. Gates said Admiral Kirkland Donald, the officer who led the investigation, concluded that both incidents had a "common origin" which was "the gradual erosion of nuclear standards and a lack of effective oversight by Air Force leadership."
A senior defense official said the report had "identified issues about record keeping" for sensitive nuclear missile components. But he claimed that there was no suggestion that components had ended up in the hands of countries that should not have received them.
But Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington, said the revelation was "very significant and extremely troubling" because it meant the U.S. could not establish the positive control referred to by Mr. Gates. "It raises a serious question about where else these unaccounted for warhead related parts may have gone," said Mr. Kimball. "I would not be surprised if the recent Taiwan incident is not the only one."
A senior military officer said the military leadership, including Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was "deeply troubled" by the findings of the Donald report. He added that they would be paying close attention to recommendations for improving nuclear safeguards that Mr. Gates has asked James Schlesinger, a former defense secretary, to make.
(Source: London Financial Times)
