A Bit More about That B-52

If the "mistake" was deliberate, it means that somehow the normal chain of command was bypassed. I've heard two theories about how this might have happened.

The first- the Chinese supplied key components of the computer systems that control our military command structure, and built in a "back door" route, by which they can override any orders in the system. They tricked the people at Minot and Barksdale with false orders, in order to demonstrate to the US military that orders cannot be trusted. This paralyzes the chain of command. They wanted to demonstrate their ability to do it in a peaceful way, so as to forestall an attack on Iran.

The other, more sinister theory is that Dick Cheney, who Bush put in charge of such things early on, has a separate override system which was in effect that day, and that all participants are sworn to secrecy. The cluster of violent deaths of young airmen and one woman from Minot and Barksdale AFB's from June-September- 6-7 young people in good health, and not in combat zones, makes one wonder.

If it's part of a Bush/Cheney plot, what's the plot? Normally, nuclear weapons are not loaded onto airplanes at all, and flown across the country, for fear that a crash would spread radiation around. These weapons were on top of cruise missiles, armed, under a wing of the plane, in firing position. (OpEd.News)

Warning: break out your tin-foil coated Armadillo helmet, we are entering deeply into the cavern of conspiracy and speculation.

That is the point, however, is it not? Government lies beget conspiracy theories - when the people (or at least enough of the people) know that the government routinely lies we are left with speculation when events that simply do not make sense occur.

I have read a little about the first possibility presented above - it is not that it is not plausible in some very remote way, that is not why I do not accept it. I reject it because it is based upon a set of assumptions that do not hold water in my view. To be certain we rely heavily on computer systems to accomplish everything. However, people still have a role in events like this. The degree of infiltration required to achieve a coup like this using only computer systems would be tremendous, and it would involve more than just hacking the system itself. It would involve a lot of real time human intelligence, as well as human agents within the system working to pull the plan off. I could go on and on about why this Chinese scenario is implausible but suffice it to say I just do not buy it.

The second scenario - i.e. this was part of an administration approved mission gone awry - is infinitely more plausible than the accident story or theories about Chinese involvement. Of course this scenario brings up its on list of questions:

1. To what end, what purpose, did this weapons serve?
2. If it was in fact part of a plan to attack Iranian nuclear facilities with some degree of "plausible deniability" that is ludicrous logic. The world would blame a) the US or b) Israel and no matter who the blame ultimately fell upon the result would not be good.
   
3. The Air Force I know does not routinely produce officers capable of thinking outside the rules - if this was part of a secret mission I still find it difficult to accept that anyone in the Air Force would have resisted ( an important assumption that one must accept if we are to tear down the accident story).
4. Are these deaths at Minot AFB related to this? We will never know and that is the problem with conspiracy theories and government lies.
   

I would like to know specifically how this entire event unfolded - i.e. how the nuclear ordinance was "discovered". If I had to venture a guess, based upon the second conspiracy theory and the limited amount of truth that one can garner from existing stories I would say this. The "fall-guy", the hero of the mutiny story is the Colonel that was relieved. Those more junior officers that were relieved and the enlisted ground crews that received reprimands are merely collateral damage. If there was a mutiny I suspect it occurred at the O-6 level and below (if anyone with a star was involved in a secret refusal to a secret and illegal mission it would be kept quiet, his punishment will come in a different form).

Perhaps there was authorization to load the missiles at Minot, perhaps this all occurred a little outside of the normal chain of procedures but that is not unusual in a "special and very classified mission". After all if you really have to do something secretly the less people that know the better. Perhaps only when the plane arrived at Barksdale did those involved really begin to understand the nature of the mission and maybe that is when people began asking questions. Once people began talking the secrecy of the mission was spoiled and an explanation of what had occurred was necessary. Thus exist the need for a fall guy and a cover story.

The fact of the matter is we will just never know. I think a lot of people realize something is wrong and incidents like this only highlight the degree of mistrust. The saddest part of this all is that we are forced to even ponder items such as conspiracies and government lies. This is the paradigm in which we live, the system we have in place. Things should change but unless more people ask tough questions and refuse to accept the status quo this is the government and the system we deserve.