From my inbox, very interesting article.

Read and enjoy!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Air Force Refused To Fly Weapons to Middle East Theater –
By Wayne Madsen

WMR has learned from U.S. and foreign intelligence sources
that the B-52 transporting six stealth AGM-129 Advanced
Cruise Missiles, each armed with a W-80-1 nuclear warhead,
on August 30, were destined for the Middle East via
Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

However, elements of the Air Force, supported by U.S.
intelligence agency personnel, successfully revealed the
ultimate destination of the nuclear weapons and the mission
was aborted due to internal opposition within the Air Force
and U.S. Intelligence Community.

Yesterday, the /Washington Post/ attempted to explain away
the fact that America's nuclear command and control system
broke down in an unprecedented manner by reporting that it
was the result of "security failures at multiple levels."
It is now apparent that the command and control breakdown,
reported as a BENT SPEAR incident to the Secretary of
Defense and White House, was not the result of a command
and control chain-of-command "failures" but the result of
a revolt and push back by various echelons within the Air
Force and intelligence agencies against a planned U.S.
attack on Iran using nuclear and conventional weapons.

The /Washington Post/ story on BENT SPEAR may have
actually been an effort in damage control by the Bush
administration. WMR has been informed by a knowledgeable
source that one of the six nuclear-armed cruise missiles
was, and may still be, unaccounted for. In that case, the
nuclear reporting incident would have gone far beyond BENT
SPEAR to a National Command Authority alert known as EMPTY
QUIVER, with the special classification of PINNACLE.

Just as this report was being prepared, /Newsweek/ reported
that Vice President Dick Cheney's recently-departed Middle
East adviser, David Wurmser, told a small group of advisers
some months ago that Cheney had considered asking Israel
to launch a missile attack on the Iranian nuclear site at
Natanz. Cheney reasoned that after an Iranian retaliatory
strike, the United States would have ample reasons to
launch its own massive attack on Iran. However, plans for
Israel to attack Iran directly were altered to an Israeli
attack on a supposed Syrian-Iranian-North Korean nuclear
installation in northern Syria.

WMR has learned that a U.S. attack on Iran using nuclear
and conventional weapons was scheduled to coincide with
Israel's September 6 air attack on a reputed Syrian nuclear
facility in Dayr az-Zwar, near the village of Tal Abyad,
in northern Syria, near the Turkish border. Israel's
attack, code named OPERATION ORCHARD, was to provide a
reason for the U.S. to strike Iran. The neo-conservative
propaganda onslaught was to cite the cooperation of the
George Bush's three remaining "Axis of Evil" states --
Syria, Iran, and North Korea -- to justify a sustained
Israeli attack on Syria and a massive U.S. military attack
on Iran.

WMR has learned from military sources on both sides of the
Atlantic that there was a definite connection between
Israel's OPERATION ORCHARD and BENT SPEAR involving the
B-52 that flew the six nuclear-armed cruise missiles from
Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale. There
is also a connection between these two events as the
Pentagon's highly-classified PROJECT CHECKMATE, a compart-
mented U.S. Air Force program that has been working on an
attack plan for Iran since June 2007, around the same time
that Cheney was working on the joint Israeli-U.S. attack
scenario on Iran.

PROJECT CHECKMATE was leaked in an article by military
analyst Eric Margolis in the Rupert Murdoch-owned news-
paper, the /Times of London/, is a program that involves
over two dozen Air Force officers and is headed by Brig.
Gen. Lawrence Stutzriem and his chief civilian adviser,
Dr. Lani Kass, a former Israeli military intelligence
officer who, astoundingly, is now involved in planning a
joint U.S.-Israeli massive military attack on Iran that
involves a "decapitating" blow on Iran by hitting between
three to four thousand targets in the country. Stutzriem
and Kass report directly to the Air Force Chief of Staff,
General Michael Moseley, who has also been charged with
preparing a report on the B-52/nuclear weapons incident.

Kass' area of speciality is cyber-warfare, which includes
ensuring "information blockades," such as that imposed by
the Israeli government on the Israeli media regarding the
Syrian air attack on the alleged Syrian "nuclear installa-
tion." British intelligence sources have reported that the
Israeli attack on Syria was a "true flag" attack originally
designed to foreshadow a U.S. attack on Iran. After the
U.S. Air Force push back against transporting the six
cruise nuclear-armed AGM-129s to the Middle East, Israel
went ahead with its attack on Syria in order to help
ratchet up tensions between Washington on one side and
Damascus, Tehran, and Pyongyang on the other.

The other part of CHECKMATE's brief is to ensure that a
media "perception management" is waged against Syria, Iran,
and North Korea. This involves articles such as that which
appeared with Joby Warrick's and Walter Pincus' bylines in
yesterdays /Washington Post/. The article, titled "The Saga
of a Bent Spear," quotes a number of seasoned Air Force
nuclear weapons experts as saying that such an incident is
unprecedented in the history of the Air Force. For example,
Retired Air Force General Eugene Habiger, the former chief
of the U.S. Strategic Command, said he has been in the
"nuclear business" since 1966 and has never been aware of
an incident "more disturbing."

Command and control breakdowns involving U.S. nuclear
weapons are unprecedented, except for that fact that the
U.S. military is now waging an internal war against neo-
cons who are embedded in the U.S. government and military
chain of command who are intent on using nuclear weapons
in a pre-emptive war with Iran.

CHECKMATE and OPERATION ORCHARD would have provided the
cover for a pre-emptive U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran
had it not been for BENT SPEAR involving the B-52. In on
the plan to launch a pre-emptive attack on Iran involving
nuclear weapons were, according to our sources, Cheney,
National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley; members of the
CHECKMATE team at the Pentagon, who have close connections
to Israeli intelligence and pro-Israeli think tanks in
Washington, including the Hudson Institute; British Foreign
Secretary David Miliband, a political adviser to Tony Blair
prior to becoming a Member of Parliament; Israeli political
leaders like Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Likud leader
Binyamin Netanyahu; and French Foreign Minister Bernard
Kouchner, who did his part last week to ratchet up tensions
with Iran by suggesting that war with Iran was a prob-
ability. Kouchner retracted his statement after the U.S.
plans for Iran were delayed.

Although the Air Force tried to keep the B-52 nuclear
incident from the media, anonymous Air Force personnel
leaked the story to /Military Times/ on September 5, the
day before the Israelis attacked the alleged nuclear
installation in Syria and the day planned for the
simultaneous U.S. attack on Iran. The leaking of classified
information on U.S. nuclear weapons disposition or movement
to the media, is, itself, unprecedented. Air Force
regulations require the sending of classified BEELINE
reports to higher Air Force authorities on the disclosure
of classified Air Force information to the media.

In another highly unusual move, Defense Secretary Robert
Gates has asked an outside inquiry board to look into BENT
SPEAR, even before the Air Force has completed its own
investigation, a virtual vote of no confidence in the
official investigation being conducted by Major General
Douglas Raaberg, chief of air and space operations at the
Air Combat Command.

Gates asked former Air Force Chief of Staff, retired
General Larry Welch, to lead a Defense Science Board task
force that will also look into the BENT SPEAR incident.
The official Air Force investigation has reportedly been
delayed for unknown reasons. Welch is President and CEO
of the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA), a federally-
funded research contractor that operates three research
centers, including one for Office of Science and Technology
Policy in the Executive Office of the President and another
for the National Security Agency. One of the board members
of IDA is Dr. Suzanne H. Woolsey of the Paladin Capital
Group and wife of former CIA director and arch-neocon James
Woolsey.

WMR has learned that neither the upper echelons of the
State Department nor the British Foreign Office were privy
to OPERATION ORCHARD, although Hadley briefed President
Bush on Israeli spy satellite intelligence that showed the
Syrian installation was a joint nuclear facility built
with North Korean and Iranian assistance. However, it is
puzzling why Hadley would rely on Israeli imagery
intelligence (IMINT) from its OFEK (Horizon) 7 satellite
when considering that U.S. IMINT satellites have greater
capabilities.

The Air Force's "information warfare" campaign against
media reports on CHECKMATE and OPERATION ORCHARD also
affected international reporting of the recent Inter-
national Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution asking
Israel to place its nuclear weapons program under IAEA
controls, similar to those that the United States wants
imposed on Iran and North Korea. The resolution also
called for a nuclear-free zone throughout the Middle East.
The IAEA's resolution, titled "Application of IAEA Safe-
guards in the Middle East," was passed by the 144-member
IAEA General Meeting on September 20 by a vote of 53 to 2,
with 47 abstentions. The only two countries to vote
against were Israel and the United States. However, the
story carried from the IAEA meeting in Vienna by Reuters,
the Associated Press, and Agence France Press, was that it
was Arab and Islamic nations that voted for the resolution.

This was yet more perception management carried out by
CHECKMATE, the White House, and their allies in Europe and
Israel with the connivance of the media. In fact, among
the 53 nations that voted for the resolution were China,
Russia, India, Ireland, and Japan. The 47 abstentions were
described as votes "against" the resolution even though an
abstention is neither a vote for nor against a measure.
America's close allies, including Britain, France,
Australia, Canada, and Georgia, all abstained.

Suspiciously, the IAEA carried only a brief item on the
resolution concerning Israel's nuclear program and a roll
call vote was not available either at the IAEA's web site
-- www.iaea.org -- or in the media.

The perception management campaign by the neocon operation-
al cells in the Bush administration, Israel and Europe was
designed to keep a focus on Iran's nuclear program, not on
Israel's. Any international examination of Israel's nuclear
weapons program would likely bring up Israeli nuclear
scientist Mordechai Vanunu, a covert from Judaism to
Christianity, who was kidnapped in Rome by a Mossad "honey
trap" named Cheryl Bentov (aka, Cindy) and a Mossad team
in 1986 and held against his will in Israel ever since.

Vanunu's knowledge of the Israeli nuclear weapons program
would focus on the country's own role in nuclear pro-
liferation, including its program to share nuclear weapons
technology with apartheid South Africa and Taiwan in the
late 1970s and 1980s. The role of Ronald Reagan's Director
of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Ken Adelman in
Israeli's nuclear proliferation during the time frame 1983-
1987 would also come under scrutiny. Adelman, a member of
the Reagan-Bush transition State Department team from
November 1980 to January 1981, voiced his understanding for
the nuclear weapons programs of Israel, South Africa, and
Taiwan in a June 28, 1981 /New York Times/ article titled,
"3 Nations Widening Nuclear Contacts." The journalist who
wrote the article was Judith Miller. Adelman felt that the
three countries wanted nuclear weapons because of their
ostracism from the West, the third world, and the hostility
from the Communist countries. Of course, today, the same
argument can be used by Iran, North Korea, and other "Axis
of Evil" nations so designated by the neocons in the Bush
administration and other governments.

There are also news reports that suggest an intelligence
relationship between Israel and North Korea. On July 21,
2004, New Zealand's /Dominion Post/ reported that three
Mossad agents were involved in espionage in New Zealand.
Two of the Mossad agents, Uriel Kelman and Elisha Cara
(aka Kra), were arrested and imprisoned by New Zealand
police (an Israeli diplomat in Canberra, Amir Lati, was
expelled by Australia and New Zealand intelligence
identified a fourth Mossad agent involved in the New
Zealand espionage operation in Singapore). The third
Mossad agent in New Zealand, Zev William Barkan (aka Lev
Bruckenstein), fled New Zealand -- for North Korea.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff revealed that
Barkan, a former Israeli Navy diver, had previously worked
at the Israeli embassy in Vienna, which is also the head-
quarters of the IAEA. He was cited by the /Sydney Morning
Herald/ as trafficking in passports stolen from foreign
tourists in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. New
Zealand's One News reported that Barkan was in North Korea
to help the nation build a wall to keep its citizens from
leaving.

The nuclear brinkmanship involving the United States and
Israel and the breakdown in America's command and control
systems have every major capital around the world wondering
about the Bush administration's true intentions.

NOTE: WMR understands the risks to informed individuals in
reporting the events of August 29/30, to the present time,
that concern the discord within the U.S. Air Force, U.S.
intelligence agencies, and other military services. Any
source with relevant information and who wishes to contact
us anonymously may drop off sealed correspondence at or
send mail via the Postal Service to: Wayne Madsen, c/o The
Front Desk, National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St.,
NW, Washington, DC, 20045.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Afam,
You should know better than to post conspiracy theorist crap here in your eagerness to discredit the US.

Here's a summary of what really happened.



Less than a month ago, the U.S. Air Force lost track of six nuclear cruise missiles for 36 hours. They were left unguarded on the ground for a total of 24 hours. Needless to say, this mistake was big enough to trigger a “Bent Spear” incident report once it was discovered. Such events are ranked second in seriousness only to “Broken Arrow” incidents, which involve the loss, destruction or accidental detonation of a nuclear weapon. Today’s Washington Post has the details:



Just after 9 a.m. on Aug. 29, a group of U.S. airmen entered a sod-covered bunker on North Dakota’s Minot Air Force Base with orders to collect a set of unarmed cruise missiles bound for a weapons graveyard. They quickly pulled out a dozen cylinders, all of which appeared identical from a cursory glance, and hauled them along Bomber Boulevard to a waiting B-52 bomber.

The airmen attached the gray missiles to the plane’s wings, six on each side. After eyeballing the missiles on the right side, a flight officer signed a manifest that listed a dozen unarmed AGM-129 missiles. The officer did not notice that the six on the left contained nuclear warheads, each with the destructive power of up to 10 Hiroshima bombs.

That detail would escape notice for an astounding 36 hours, during which the missiles were flown across the country to a Louisiana air base that had no idea nuclear warheads were coming. It was the first known flight by a nuclear-armed bomber over U.S. airspace, without special high-level authorization, in nearly 40 years.

… “I have been in the nuclear business since 1966 and am not aware of any incident more disturbing,” retired Air Force Gen. Eugene Habiger, who served as U.S. Strategic Command chief from 1996 to 1998, said in an interview.

… The incident came on the heels of multiple warnings — some of which went to the highest levels of the Bush administration, including the National Security Council — of security problems at Air Force installations where nuclear weapons are kept.

Verdict: This was a totally avoidable screwup which the Bush administration was warned about in advance. Why were nuclear-armed missiles stored in the same bunker with unarmed missiles? Maybe it has something to do with the fact we have a President who can’t even pronounce the word “nuclear.”

Maybe we should ask how good a job our government is doing keeping track of nuclear weapons in places like the former Soviet Union, India, Pakistan and North Korea when our own can go missing like this. No terrorist group needs to assemble its own nuke when they can get a ready-made one.

UPDATE: In the immortal words of Bush speech writer Michael Gerson, “the smoking gun could be a mushroom cloud.”

UPDATE: Naturally, there is already a half-baked conspiracy theory because some people still can’t accept that the Bush administration is anywhere near as incompetent as it appears to be. Although unprecedented in the US Air Force, this blunder is just the latest in a series for Bush’s national security bureaucracy.



Read the full report here

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/22/AR2007092201447_pf.html



Just in case you didn't know the WMR in Afam's article, that stands for Wayne Madsen Report, a reknowned rabble-rouser and conspiracy theorist. Interesting how he tries to insinuate that the Bush adminsitration, despite facing heavy flak both home and abroad for the Iraq war debacle, intends to open a second front in Iran. The raging debate now in the US is a tinmetable for withdrawal of troops from Iraq, yet he and his believers are actually expecting us to believe the US was planning a second war in Iran. Brainless.

FYI, before Nuclear weapons are used by the US, it must be agreed upon by the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chaiman, Joint Chiefs. This approval must then be reconfirmed before the nuclear missiles are used. This has existed as clear protocol since the 50s, and if WMR expects right-thinking people to fall for this bullshit, he better have another think coming.



What remains is to analyse Afam's motive for posting this. Despite the fact that i find it amusing that he subscribes to a conspiracy theory website (desperate for ammunition to use against the US, are ya?), what exactlky was the motive.
I mean, it's ok to be anti-american. Many europeans are, and they usually express their feelings with diatribes against the bush administration for the war in Iraq, and the US role in pollution and global warming. But what is peculiar to mainly Nairaland users (Blacks!) is the wilful use of untruths and mis-information to demonize select western countries. This strikes me as extremely amusing, yet dissapointing. I expect these lies from el ZakZaky's semi-literate fanatics, but not from well-educated people.



@Afam
It's okay if you want to hate the US. It's your OPinion, your right. You're welcome to it. But you and your cohorts can at least try to be objective and factual, ok? I mean, for example when you refer to Isreal's presence on Palestinian land as illegal, try to also cast barbs at China for its occupation of Tibet, for it's saber rattling at Taiwan. it makes you look more balanced, more reasonable and far less of someone who's more interested in demonizing western countries than reporting the actual state of the world.

@texazzpete,

Thanks for the lecture but they are not needed, I know where highly inconsistent people like you stand on issues.

Unfortunately, when the first shot or nuclear bomb is dropped in Iran by the US, people like you will just look stupid and you will avoid any discussions in that regard.

Please, don't think for me, don't even attempt to sway public opinion, all you need do is provide information and let the people make up their minds based on what they see.

Only idiots will resort to attacking personalities on issues they cannot discuss. I posted an article and close to half of your response was directed at the person Afam.

Like I stated only idiots and bastards would do that, silly.

texazzpete:

What remains is to analyse Afam's motive for posting this. Despite the fact that i find it amusing that he subscribes to a conspiracy theory website (desperate for ammunition to use against the US, are ya?), what exactlky was the motive.
I mean, it's ok to be anti-american. Many europeans are, and they usually express their feelings with diatribes against the bush administration for the war in Iraq, and the US role in pollution and global warming. But what is peculiar to mainly Nairaland users (Blacks!) is the wilful use of untruths and mis-information to demonize select western countries. This strikes me as extremely amusing, yet dissapointing. I expect these lies from el ZakZaky's semi-literate fanatics, but not from well-educated people.

Go through his previous posts from his infamous mailbox, its the same MO. Post some conspiracy theory and sit in the sidelines waiting to piggy back on comments by equally uninformed religious fanatics who can only think from the islamic viewpoint. Never do you see Afam clearly articulating his own position on the topics he puts up.

Afam:

Only idiots will resort to attacking personalities on issues they cannot discuss. I posted an article and close to half of your response was directed at the person Afam.

Based on previous "from my inbox" threads, do i take it that you are refering to yourself as an idiot? 
The last thread you put up is clear example, 90% of your posts have focused NOT on the topic but on alleged use of mulitple IDs. Talk of hypocrisy and irony.

I read the original post and searched even the BBC, AP, New york post, boston times, and VOA for were such came from and I came up with no information showing that the original post had any bearing to reality. Just wondered what the ORIGINAL source for that information is.

Kobojunkie:

I read the original post and searched even the BBC, AP, New york post, boston times, and VOA for were such came from and I came up with no information showing that the original post had any bearing to reality. Just wondered what the ORIGINAL source for that information is.

Isnt Afam's "inbox" not a good enough "source"? 
As for whether it has any bearing to reality, perhaps it does in the warped mindset of the conspiracy theorists who live on a separate planet.

That post got me wondering why even the many political chat programs did not play with that one this morning. Not even on ABC's meet the press or the NBC's version or CBS. I went ahead to search the other news papers and some other foreign ones to find more information on such ever happening but it seems not one has that story as it is presented in the post. I was going to ask how this Warren dude really got his story.

Perhaps it was on NTA news, did you check?

OH LORD HAVE MERCY ON US ALL!!! the DAY GO TO NTA for news on America is the day I know I need to get head checked !!! LOL

The story that made the rounds here was much closer to Texazzpete's account.
Perhaps the "eagle-eyed" NTA reporters in Ikoyi got a part of the story we didnt get to hear.

Its all Bush's fault. . . and Dick Cheney too.

Afam Afam!
u again?

Let's get more information on this Afam theory before we condemn it.

If you are in the US, and go through the major news networks everyday, you would be surprised at how many "important" news items are not covered, you would also be disappointed to notice how "slanted" the news has been to the detriment of African (Nigerians in particular), non-Jewsih Middle easterners, Muslims, South Americans, Cubans, etc.

Granted that there are built-in safety checks for the use of nuclear weapons, anybody who understood how the Iraqi was sold to the American people would not doubt that the US neo-cons are capable of doing anything.

Certainly, having nuclear weapons in the middle east makes it easier to use there.

Finding reasons to use them would not be a problem to Bush, Cheney, and co.

I don't know Afam's history, but this article somehow struck a note in my soul.

Another uninformed Nigerian trumpeting more falsehood.

naijaking1:

If you are in the US, and go through the major news networks everyday, you would be surprised at how many "important" news items are not covered, you would also be disappointed to notice how "slanted" the news has been to the detriment of African (Nigerians in particular), non-Jewsih Middle easterners, Muslims, South Americans, Cubans, etc.

This is false. There are so many media outlets in the US that no one can complain of media bias. There are uncountable radio, television and print media who are forever attacking the government. If there is one thing Americans can not complain about, it is getting pure undiluted news.

those who complain of bias are those who depend solely on CNN and BBC for their news sources. Most Americans don't bother watching CNN. I can't remember the last time i tuned to that channel. The only place i see it is at airports and frankly no one is bothered.

naijaking1:

Granted that there are built-in safety checks for the use of nuclear weapons, anybody who understood how the Iraqi was sold to the American people would not doubt that the US neo-cons are capable of doing anything.

Absolute bunkum! the issue at stake here was that nuclear weapons were flown across the US for the first time in 40yrs. Each of 6 weapons had about 10 times the destructive power of the bomb that flattened Hiroshima. The fear was based on the catastrophe that could have occured had that plane crashed.
It had nothing to do with the war on terror.

naijaking1:

Certainly, having nuclear weapons in the middle east makes it easier to use there.

Did you read that the nuclear weapons were flown to the middle east or Louisiana? Na wa for clueless Nigerians.

naijaking1:

Finding reasons to use them would not be a problem to Bush, Cheney, and co.

Use the weapons in Louisiana?  Remove your head from your ass.

@Davidlyn

I see you delight in hauling insults at people who don't agree with you 100%. Too bad.

Did you read all of Afam's article? I bet you did not. So until you take time to read/understand what that article is saying, there would be no need arguing or discussing this issue with you. Sir.

naijaking1:

@Davidlyn

I see you delight in hauling insults at people who don't agree with you 100%. Too bad.

lol i've heard the same old excuse more than 1000 times already. Its the excuse people use when faced with irrefutable evidence and arguments that makes their position untenable. Rather than face up to reality they hide behind "boohoo he is abusing me".

naijaking1:

Did you read all of Afam's article? I bet you did not. So until you take time to read/understand what that article is saying, there would be no need arguing or discussing this issue with you. Sir.

I read Afam's article, apparently you dont understand what is there yourself. Did you read Texazzpete's article? Did you read other independent articles on the issue or you simply take Afam's article as gospel truth as long as it aligns with the muslim perspective of always casting blame on the US?

There is nothing to discuss with you in the first place since you have demonstrated a clear lack of understanding of the issues you pretend to be discussing.

@naijaking
What Warren Madsen and Afam fail to realise is that there's no single reason why the US would want to move nuclear missiles over to the middle east when Ballistic missile launchers are plentiful on groun din the US. it's even a lot less safe and exposes the nuclear warheads to innumerable hazards.
Nuclear tipped missiles can easily be launched from Carriers, submarines and hardened missile silos. A missile launched from the US will reach Iran quickly enough. WMR also fails to mention that the missiles carrying the nuclear warheads are now obsolete and are slated for decommisioning by the US millitary.
So, if you can think for yourself, think why

1. The US, reeling from a costly debacle in Iraq will choose to open a second front with Iran at this stage
2. Why the US would even contemplate using Nuclear weapons anytime soon. Debate still rages on the use of the Nuclear bombs in WW2
3. Even if the US wanted to carry out a Nuclear attack, why use obsolete missiles slated for decommisioning. Why fly them to the middle east when ICBMs fired from the mainland can easily reach anywhere in Iran.
4. Even if the US wanted to use nuclear weapons in a conflict, why use weapons with such a high yield? Why else were low-yield tactical nukes developed?

The truth is, Wayne Madsen and his acolytes know what they say is untrue, but just like how it obtains on Nairaland, conspiracy theorists are really popular among the alarmists, the intellectually crippled and the perenially paranoid.
Wyclef Jean once said, Every Man loves disciples. That's what drives these rabble rousers.

@texazzpete
Thanks for your analytical survey. It's appreciated, and I agree that nuclear weapons would be more easily lauched from the vessels already in the area.

That's the type of addition I was asking for about Afam's article.

@Davidlyn
You must be acustomed to yelling at fellow agberos in your motor park.

I guess you consider yourself Nigeria's equivalent of Dick Cheney or Rumsfeld?

Keep dreaming, wannabe somebody.

@topic,

Diversion has become the order of the day when issues concern the US or Israel here.

What experts and aides could not do in the White House due to many clearly avoidable blunders by the Bush administration we have some clueless people on Nairaland trying to do.

Trying to label every single thing that does not support any mistakes by the US as conspiracy theory is a very weak attempt but of course any intellectually challenged person will effortlessly take that route as it requires the minimum use of the brain to process information.

@naijaking1,

Don't even bother to argue with some of these people, go through information posted here by any one and make up your mind. The gang on the forum of course would oppose and attack anyone that does not share in their warped sense of reasoning.

@those using multiple IDs like Davidylan and TayoD,

Only criminals and fraudsters engage in using fake or multiple IDs and for the simple fact that you guys have shamelessly used multiple IDs on this forum I see you as mere criminals.

Only God knows how many other names you guys are using to support your positions on Nairaland.

@Kobojunkie,

Since the date you claimed that Britain originally owned the present day Israel and Palestine I have relegated your thoughts and positions to where they truly belong, the trash can. Enjoy and keep looking for lies to post.

This article does not state any factual/reliable sources for its information

are we simply to accept 'WMR has learned' as the gospel truth?

It is quite a stretch of the imagination to link the transport of nuclear weapons within the continental US to any perceived attacks on Iran. Surely the Warships and aircraft carriers stationed in the Persian gulf are more than sufficient to make such strikes. Why the need to 'ship them' from the US when such weapons are located on submarines and frigates closer to the alleged 'target' Iran?

If Israel was involved as is being alleged, it would be far better for Israel to make the launches, because if it was done that way, there is no way it would be traceable back to the US

Secondly, if the intent was for the US to make a 'legal'/declared nuclear strike against another sovereign nation with whom they are not at war, then the President would have to follow protocol as stated by T/pete as well as bringing the Joint Chiefs and others also into the picture. It would not occur through 'sneaking out' 6 warheads out of the country.

In conclusion, there are always bombing contingency plans made concerning any hostile/potentially hostile nation. These plans exist in a basic form for an attack on Russia, China, North Korea and Iran to name a few. In the event where they are needed, details would be penciled in. So in claiming that there is a plan to bomb x number of sites in Iran or anywhere else for that matter is not anything new.

While there might be attempts to divert attention from Israel's nuclear arsenal, this is not new in any way, it is the same way resolutions against Israel at the security council get regularly vetoed by the US.

I think it will be a very long stretch to link this incident to Israel or Iran in any way. Possibilities always exist, but this is in all likelyhood just what it appears to be - a bungled transfer operation.

@debosky,

Thanks for your post.

While I agree that no one can categorically state that everything in the article is factual or verifiable however, there are issues that need explaining.

It was reported that the Foreign Affairs Minister from France made a statement that war with Iran was a possibility before the September date (alleged date of attack) and retracted the statement after the date passed without incident.

Again, considering the risks and sensitivity of the issue of nuclear weapons why would something like this pass off as mere mistake?

The article clearly pointed out how Washington Post tried to explain away the issue.

I will not put my money on anything the media says because only the media houses know the correctness or otherwise of information they dish out and the motives too.

That stated, as consumers of information from so many different sources it is left for us to make sense of what we see or hear considering the fact that the media will not and cannot think for us.

That dirty little nation called Israel is always at the scene to instigate trouble!

What has Iran done?

The original article is credible! The neo-con assholes will do anything to sustain fear. The main aim of all these is to increase the stock price of defense companies and contractors.

May God punish George W. Bush - evil bastard!

For those looking for independent corroboration on Afam's post:

September 10, 2007

B-52 Bomber Incident & Insider Trading – Was Someone Trying to Profit from a Nuclear Attack Against Iran Before Sept 21?

By Michael Salla, Ph.D

A B-52 bomber loaded with five (increased to six in later reports) nuclear weapons fitted on the pylons under its wings was discovered after sitting for ten hours on a tarmac at Barksdale AFB on August 30. Three anonymous Air Force officers leaked the news of the incident to the Army Times newspaper which announced the discovery on September 5. The discovery immediately gained world wide coverage: (http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/09/marine_nuclear_B52_070904w/ . The mainstream news media has so far concentrated on the Air Force version of events that the incident was an ‘error’ and is now subject to an official investigation.

Barksdale AFB is a staging post for Middle East operations and routinely has B-52 flying missions. The B-52 incident has subsequently led to speculation that the nuclear weapons were intended for a covert mission to Iran, and the Office of the Vice President was probably involved in bypassing the normal chain of military command (see: http:///2hbjk9 ). The discovery of the B-52 came on top of rapidly increasing speculation that the Bush administration is about to authorize a massive preemptive aerial assault against Iran. According to the Sunday Times, the Pentagon has prepared for air strikes against 1,200 targets in Iran that would in three days destroy Iran's military infrastructure (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2369001.ece ).

What gives reports of a planned attack against Iran involving nuclear weapons greater credibility is a number of mysterious August 2007 purchases of a particular type of stock called 'put options' and 'call options' which are based on a dramatic shift in the US. stock market (see: http://www.anomalicresearch.com/optioncall.html ). Essentially, a "put option" is where an investor speculates that the market will drop dramatically, say 30-50%, whereas a "call option" is where the investor bets particular stocks will rise just as dramatically. If the stock fails to dramatically shift either up or down by September 21, then the investors stands to lose much from their investment. Such an investment is very unusual and has many market analysts puzzled as to why anonymous investors would risk such large sums unless they had insider information.

A similar stock market event happened in the weeks before 911 when anonymous investors made great profits when they successfully 'predicted' a dramatic drop in airline and insurances stocks, while also 'predicting' dramatic increases in stocks of corporations producing military armaments stocks (see: http://911research.wtc7.net/sept11/stockputs.html ). The investments were so suspicious that they became subject to an insider trading investigation by US. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) but the no one was ever identified or charged. This was despite a determined effort by the SEC to find who was behind the investments.

The parallels with 'put" and "call option" purchases just before 911 has led to speculation that the August billion dollar investments are based on insider knowledge of another 911 event before September 21. This led to predictions of a catastrophic event about to occur in the US. Another explanation for a dramatic shift in the stock market is that China will desert the US currency leading to a collapse in the US dollar. Both explanations would essentially lead to a collapse in some US. stocks, while other stocks would rise.

A more plausible explanation for the mysterious billion dollar investments is that anonymous investors had insider knowledge that an attack against Iran would occur before September 21, and this would involve nuclear weapons. If an aerial attack occurred along the scale described by the Sunday Times report and involved nukes, then the US. stock market would collapse as oil prices escalated dramatically. This would spark a global recession, and cause great hardship to many Americans who would find their investments and jobs at risk.

The nuclear armed B-52 was likely to be used in a covert mission in or near Iran. This mission would either have been secretly integrated into an aerial attack against Iran's military infrastructure, or used in a False Flag operation that would have justified a US. assault on Iran. Admiral William Fallon, Commander of US. Central Command, was to direct conventional bombing operations against Iran’s military infrastructure. The covert mission, however, would have had a different chain of command, where the Office of the Vice President was to take a prominent role. The nuclear weapons on the B-52 had adjustable yields between five and 150 kilotons which would have made them suitable in taking out Iran’s deep underground nuclear facilities. The effect of tactical nuclear weapons to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities would have been devastating. Radioactive contamination would have dispersed widely affecting the health of millions in the region. At the same time, Iran's military and much of its civilian infrastructure would be destroyed by conventional munitions. This would have restricted Iran's abilities to cope with the health and humanitarian impact of the use of nuclear weapons, and destruction of its nuclear facilities.

One question to be asked is ‘who are the hidden investors with insider knowledge that stood to gain billions in short term profits from a possible attack against Iran’? This answer will give an important clue to the long term agenda being played out, and the principal actors involved. In the case of 911, similar investors were able to evade detection from an official investigation by the US. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC launched an unprecedented investigation that deputized "hundreds, if not thousands, of key players in the private sector" (see: http://911research.wtc7.net/sept11/stockputs.html ). According to former Los Angeles Police Officer, Michael Ruppert, what happens when individuals are deputized is that they are sworn to secrecy on national security grounds. This was a very effective way of keeping secret what was discovered in the SEC investigation. What is the most plausible explanation for the kind of investor that would have the power to subvert an SEC investigation in this manner? The most likely answer is the Central Intelligence Agency.

CIA front companies annually supply funds for a black budget used to fund covert national security projects . The black budget has been estimated to range between 1.1 to 1.7 trillion dollars annually which is funneled through the CIA to various military-corporate entities fulfilling such projects (see: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0401/S00151.htm ). The massive size of the black budget is needed to fund a ‘second’ Manhattan Project. Projects so deeply compartmentalized and classified, that most members of Congress are not informed of their existence.

The CIA is uniquely suited to perform this function of secretly raising revenue through the 1949 CIA Act which authorizes the CIA to expend funds "without regard to any provisions of law” (50USC 15:1.403f.a.1.). The CIA therefore does not have to follow any legal requirements for the funds it procures from various sources, and funnels to military-corporate entities directly responsible for the second Manhattan project.

The discovery of the nuclear armed B-52 is likely to lead to an indefinite delay in plans for a preemptive military attack against Iran. There is nevertheless a need to expose the principle actors and the underlying agendas of those behind the covert plans to use nuclear weapons. It is also important to expose anonymous investors that intended to profit from such an attack before September 21, and had insider knowledge of this. President Eisenhower warned that an informed public is the best safeguard against unwarranted abuses of executive power. The preemptive attack against Iran that does not have the support of the American people or Congress, would qualify for such an abuse.

The period leading up to September 21, 2007 was to witness a preemptive attack against Iran, involving nuclear weapons loaded on at least one B-52 bomber. The humanitarian cost in terms of radioactive fallout, and casualties from the destruction of Iran's military and much of its civilian infrastructure would have been catastrophic for the Persian Gulf region. Furthermore, the US. and global economy would have gone into a deep free fall in the event of dramatic increases in oil prices and further instability in the Middle East. Out of this planned tragedy, anonymous investors with possible CIA connections and insider knowledge, planned to profit. These funds ways would have been used to secretly fund a second Manhattan Project that piggy backed an aggressive neo-conservative agenda in Iran. The discovery of the nuclear armed B-52 has averted such a tragedy for the moment. Now is the time to make accountable all responsible for this frustrated plan.

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/print_friendly.php?p=genera_michael__070909_b_52_bomber_incident.htm

@RichyBlack

Does "opednews" constitute independent corroboration?Wanye Madsen Report features in opednews.Wayne has a reputation as a rabid leftist conspiratorialist whose many claims have turned out be false

I-man:

@RichyBlack

Does "opednews" constitute independent corroboration?Wanye Madsen Report features in opednews.Wayne has a reputation as a rabid leftist conspiratorialist whose many claims have turned out be false

Kindly provide an independent corroboration if you have any.

Or, better still kindly provide an independent article that opposes the the one some of you label conspiracy theory.

It is not enough to continue to ask endless questions when faced with issues that demand explanation, such diversionary tactics don't work any longer.

Afam:

Kindly provide an independent corroboration if you have any.

Since when was it the duty of someone disputing a claim to bring proof.The onus is on you making the claims to prove it by citing independent sources that corroborate such claims.

If I was to "copy and paste" an article from a right-wing site making certain claims,its my duty to find independent sources corroborating such claims,otherwise we can keep making all sorts of claims all day long on NL,while telling those disputing our claims to prove us wrong.

In your initial article,you noted that the Washington Post cited another reason for the brouhaha.The question is,why should I disbeleive a reputable media orgainisation in favour of a known leftist conspiratorialist? This was the same man that told us last year that Karl Rove was already indicted and that Fitzgerald will soon announce it.

Another from my Inbox thread. Afam you are on fire. They say the truth is boring, give me a conspiracy theory any day. Who needs the truth.

RichyBlacK:

That dirty little nation called Israel is always at the scene to instigate trouble!

Isreal again is at fault for moving nuclear weapons within the US? and you cry about ignorance?

RichyBlacK:

What has Iran done?

I remember them crying "death to america", contemplating a world without the US and Isreal and advocating that Isreal be driven into the sea. I agree with you, what has Iran done? Absolutely nothing.

RichyBlacK:

What has Iran done?

Iran illegally occupies Arab land, Arabstan and several United Arab Emirate islands.I'm sure you no sabi because CNN no dey mention am   

don't bother. i too have several mails in my inbox, and since they are from my inbox, they must be true.

All three promise me cheap viagra, penile enlargement up to 12 inches and one even promises that i'll be a super stud. Yes, straight from my bulk mail, so it must be true.

Davidylan, I-man, the onus is on you to now prove that these charitable guys can't actually increase my penis size to 12 inches.

The gentlemen were so nice to provide links within the emails. I will post them if y'all need

THIS IS BIAS on a mega scope, so the post was about US and we already have ISREAL pulled in again?? I should stay away from posts from these two dudes. It seems it all ends up going the same way

Kobojunkie:

THIS IS BIAS on a mega scope, so the post was about US and we already have ISREAL pulled in again?? I should stay away from posts from these two dudes. It seems it all ends up going the same way

I think I agree with you on this one. It is better to stay away than to make statements like the one you made about Britain actually owning the lands being occupied by Israel and Palestine.

The only wahala is that many people still cannot believe that a human being made that statement, you see wahala wey you put me inside?

@Afam,  Name one of the many people who made that claim apart from you

[Quote]
During World War I, the British waged the Sinai and Palestine Campaign under General Allenby. At the same time, the intelligence officer T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia" was stirring up the Arab Revolt in the region. The British defeated Ottoman Turkish forces in 1917 and occupied Palestine and Syria. The land was under British military administration for the remainder of the war.

The British military administration ended starvation with the aid of food supplies from Egypt, successfully fought typhus and cholera epidemics and significantly improved the water supply to Jerusalem. They reduced corruption by paying the Arab and Jewish judges higher salaries. Communications were improved by new railway and telegraph lines.

[/Quote]