USAF Stand down September 14 and a “Broken Arrow”?

Although there is very little news available from the mainstream media concerning the stand down by the USAF this Friday, some areas of the internet are positively buzzing about the decision and the possibility of a “Broken Arrow”

For those of you who saw the 1996 film (or are not familiar with the term already), a “Broken Arrow” refers to a missing nuclear device.

You may remember (approximately 2 weeks ago) reading about a B-52 Stratofortress bomber “transporting” nuclear warheads from Minot AFB in North Dakota to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana? Normally, such devices are transported in specially modified planes and decommissioned at a different location (not Barksdale), and they are NEVER attached to the wing of a plane unless there is some special reason to do so (a combat situation for example).

The information about this flight was leaked to the press and the Air Force have apologized for the mistake and promised an immediate investigation. According to official reports, errors were made and it seems as if we are expected to accept the “Oops, sorry. There was never any danger” version and forget all about it.

Unfortunately, some things don’t seem to add up. How could the Air Force, who probably require requests for toilet paper in triplicate, make such an incredible mistake, seeing as the missiles are so clearly marked? And knowing how good the military and US government are at concealing secrets, how did this news become public, unless that was the intention?

Perhaps more worrying is the fact that there seems to be some dispute on the number of nuclear devices being transported. Some reports claim that six devices left Minot AFB, but only five arrived at Barksdale? A report in the Washington Post reveals that the nuclear devices were sitting “on a runway in Louisiana for nearly 10 hours before workers noticed that the nuclear warheads were inside.”

Has a nuclear device been stolen and what was the real purpose of the B-52 flight? Was this some message to Iran, as one writer has suggested? Or will we shortly discover the whereabouts of this “missing?” nuclear device when it is dropped on some American City?

Some will recall the catastrophic consequences of a “stand down” by the Air Force on 9/11, in which Dick Cheney was involved. With this in mind, is it really wise to advertise to the world when this is going to take place? The US government have displayed an almost obsessive attitude to security since the WTC “attack”, yet have effectively given the “enemy” an invitation to carry out an attack at a time when they are least able to respond. Is this just plain stupidity, or is there some method in their madness?

With the appearance of Osama bin Laden in a new video (sporting a new beard and face!), the governments desire to find an excuse to attack Iran, the possibility of a missing nuke and a stand down on the 14th of September, it might not be a bad idea to take a trip into the country (or maybe another country?) on Friday. For those who choose to stay in the Cities another film comes to mind (the first Jurassic Park) and the words spoken by Samuel L. Jackson “Hold on to your butts!”