More Safety Violations for Problem-Plagued Missile Wings

On the radar: Napping with the blast doors open; A realistic deal with Iran; the Vietnam deal; Humanitarian responsibility; Her Majesty’s Nuclear Seaplane; and the Hazards of being an atomic courier.

October 23, 2013 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke

Napping with Nukes - For the second time this year, Air Force officers commanding nuclear ICBMs have been caught leaving blast doors open while napping. The blast doors, which are intended to help prevent a terrorist or other intruder from entering the nuclear command post, are never to be left open if one of the crew members inside is asleep, “out of concern for the damage an intruder could cause, including the compromising of secret launch codes,” writes AP.

--Some experts believe that these blast door violations are, “another sign of serious trouble in the handling of the nation’s nuclear arsenal.” The Air Force has been plagued with problems within the ICBM force lately, including a failed safety inspection and the abrupt firing of the major general in charge just last week. Full story here. http://wapo.st/1h8avtC

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Realistic demands - Some hawks in Congress are threatening to increase sanctions on Iran unless it ceases all uranium enrichment. That position is unhelpful and could “sabotage negotiations,” according to experts.

--"If the P5+1 were to insist upon zero enrichment and the dismantling of its core facilities, it's more than likely that the Iranians will simply just walk away," said Daryl Kimball. The choice today is "between limiting Iran's nuclear program and having tougher IAEA safeguards... or having Iran continue to improve its program, unconstrained uranium enrichment and the increasing likelihood that there's a military conflict over Iran's nuclear program." AFP has the story. http://f24.my/16tf8MI

Elements of a deal - “The Iranian regime should remove doubts about its intentions by disclosing past efforts, agreeing to voluntary curbs on its uranium enrichment work, and providing greater transparency into its nuclear activities,” writes The Boston Globe in an editorial. “In exchange, the United States and its allies would affirm Iran’s right to enrich uranium on its own soil and roll back sanctions that have been crippling the country.” Full article here. http://b.globe.com/1idUvE3

Nonpro and nuclear deals - The recent U.S.-Vietnam civil nuclear cooperation agreement raises proliferation concerns because it does not prohibit Vietnam’s development of uranium enrichment or plutonium reprocessing technologies - capabilities that could be used for building bombs. Victor Gillinsky and Henry Sokolski argue that Congress should review and reject the agreement because it does not live up to the “gold standard” of nonproliferation. Full article in The National Review. http://bit.ly/1bf6kaz

Cheaper to WIPP plutonium - The costs of preparing plutonium for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is far less than the costs of a controversial, $8 billion project to turn the excess plutonium into mixed oxide (MOX) reactor fuel. The Department of Energy is looking into alternatives to the MOX project and is expected to soon make a decision on whether to change course. Tom Clements has the story at IPFM. http://bit.ly/1h8u5px

Responsibility to disarm - “At the beginning of the nuclear age in 1945, atomic scientists realized that no government could protect its people from the new weapons of mass destruction; no effective defense is possible against the most dangerous technology on Earth,” writes Kennette Benedict.

--“Applying the concept of the responsibility to protect, it follows that the international community has a duty to intervene and provide protection to individuals in the face of the state’s incapacity. But if the United Nations and humanitarian agencies judge that they are not able to respond effectively to protect civilians from nuclear detonations, as they warned in [at a recent conference on humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons], then the only way to defend populations is to eliminate these weapons.” Read the full article in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. http://bit.ly/1diYGAJ

Speed Reads:

--“Sharif Says He Wants Serious Peace Talks with India and to End Arms Race” by Rachel Oswald of Global Security Newswire. http://bit.ly/1fV98PR

--“Russia, China Consider Options for Restarting Nuclear Talks with North Korea” reports Global Security Newswire. http://bit.ly/1idVG6C

Events:

--”An Independent Assessment of the Navy’s 30 year Shipbuilding Plan” Hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection with Eric Labs and Ron O’Rourke. Oct. 23rd at 2:00-4:00pm. Webcast here. http://1.usa.gov/1aREr8c

--"Nuclear Weapons Modernization Programs: Military, Technical and Political Requirements for the B61 Life Extension Program and Future Stockpile Strategy." Hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces with Madelyn Creedon, Gen. Robert Kehler, Donald Cook, and Paul Hommert. October 29th at 3:30pm.

--”Iran and the Nuclear Issue: The November 7-8 Geneva Round” Discussion with Robert Einhorn, Kenneth Pollack, Suzanne Maloney, Tamara Cofman Wittes and Ted Piccone. November 1st from 2:00-3:00pm at Brookings. http://bit.ly/1bWpZgC

Dessert:

Flying reactors - In the 1950s, the Air Force looked into buying a gigantic luxury seaplane from Britain, jamming a nuclear reactor in it and turning it into an atomic-powered bomber. Steve Weintz at War Is Boring writes about the hulking plane and its doomed atomic upgrade in “Her Majesty’s Nuclear Seaplane.” http://bit.ly/1gF1dHH

Nuclear deliveryman - During the Manhattan Project, a courier was used to transport a small box of nuclear material - the contents of which he did not know - to a place several hundred miles away. “He was cautioned that at the first sign of any unusual behavior inside the box he was to abandon the automobile in a hurry and run as far away from it as his legs would carry him,” wrote WIlliam Laurence in Dawn Over Zero. Alex Wellerstein at Restricted Data shares the story about the anxious driver and the several times he dashed away from his car. http://bit.ly/HaWQEE