European air force bases that store U.S. nuclear bombs are failing to meet basic security requirements to safeguard the weapons, according to a report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The U.S. keeps an estimated 350 thermonuclear bombs in six NATO countries. In four of those — Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands — the weapons are stored at the host nation's air bases, where they are guarded by specially trained U.S. military personnel.
But according to an internal U.S. Air Force report, the sites are falling short of Department of Defense requirements, with fencing and security systems in need of repair, thin rotations that often lead to staffing shortages, and responsibilities taken by inadequately trained foreign security personnel.(...)
While it deemed the teams guarding U.S. weapons well trained, the report found "inconsistencies in personnel, facilities, and equipment provided to the security mission by the host nation." In particular it said that areas "in need of repair at several of the sites include support buildings, fencing, lighting and security systems."(...)
Locks on the B61 thermonuclear gravity bomb — which is up to 10 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb — prevent it from being detonated if stolen, experts say. But its weapons-grade material could be removed and turned into a dirty bomb, or even a crude nuclear device.(...)»
The U.S. keeps an estimated 350 thermonuclear bombs in six NATO countries. In four of those — Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands — the weapons are stored at the host nation's air bases, where they are guarded by specially trained U.S. military personnel.
But according to an internal U.S. Air Force report, the sites are falling short of Department of Defense requirements, with fencing and security systems in need of repair, thin rotations that often lead to staffing shortages, and responsibilities taken by inadequately trained foreign security personnel.(...)
While it deemed the teams guarding U.S. weapons well trained, the report found "inconsistencies in personnel, facilities, and equipment provided to the security mission by the host nation." In particular it said that areas "in need of repair at several of the sites include support buildings, fencing, lighting and security systems."(...)
Locks on the B61 thermonuclear gravity bomb — which is up to 10 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb — prevent it from being detonated if stolen, experts say. But its weapons-grade material could be removed and turned into a dirty bomb, or even a crude nuclear device.(...)»
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Fonte:Time
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