U.S. Air Force Calls For Tighter Security At European Nuclear Weapons Storage Sites

July 2, 2008 11:11 a.m. EST

Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News Writer
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Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The physical security measures and personnel who man U.S. nuclear weapon storage sites have lax security, according to an Air Force report. The final report prepared by an Air Force Blue Ribbon Review of Nuclear Weapons Policies and Procedures panel, submitted in February, was disclosed to the public last week by the Nuclear Information Project. Most U.S. nuclear weapon storage facilities are in Europe. The report suggested upgrades to support buildings, fencing, lighting and security systems. The guards assigned to these facilities usually had tenures of nine months, while personnel provided by host countries belong to labor unions. Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project, highlighted six bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey as storage facilities for U.S. nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, several members of Congress and watchdog groups have expressed opposition to a Pentagon plan to move toxic chemical weapons to military sites in four states to speed up the destruction of the munitions. Congress ordered the Defense Department to destroy all its munitions by the end of 2017 to meet the requirements of a 1997 treaty that forbade chemical weapons. Opponents feel a planned shipment of lethal agents would expose Americans to unnecessary risk. Pentagon officials told Congress last week it may not meet the 2017 deadline unless its nerve agents and mustard gas are transferred to other sites for destruction.