Outdated, unwanted, US nukes hang on in Europe

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Outdated, unwanted, US nukes hang on in Europe
By CHARLES J. HANLEY
The Associated Press
Sunday, May 9, 2010; 12:01 AM

KLEINE BROGEL AIR BASE, Belgium -- Unseen beyond the grazing Holsteins and rolling pastures of eastern Belgium, the 12-foot-long tapered metal cylinders sit in their underground vaults, waiting for the doomsday call that never came. Each packs the power of many Hiroshimas.

America's oldest nuclear weapons, unwanted, outdated, a legacy of the 20th century, are now the focus of a political struggle that could shake the NATO alliance in the 21st.

The questions hanging over the B-61 bombs, an estimated 200 of them on six air bases across Europe, relate not just to why they're still here, but to how safe and secure they are.

For one thing, al-Qaida terrorists have already targeted this Belgian air base 84 kilometers (52 miles) northeast of Brussels. For another, U.S. Air Force inspectors found inadequate security at most of the six sites. And three months ago a "bombspotter" team, anti-nuclear activists, penetrated nearly one kilometer (a half-mile) inside Kleine Brogel, reaching its innermost bunkers.


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/09/AR2010050900018.html

[truthisfreedom]

1. Where's the facepalm emoticon when you need one?

[bemildred]

2. Second that.

All this once so important stuff is now an annoying drag on the governments finances that nobody knows how to dispose of.