Is the US Losing Track of its Nuclear Weapons?
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Six nuclear missiles were missing for 36 hours until the Air Force discovered they had been flown across the United States. It was 18 months before nose cones turned up in Taiwan, where they’d been shipped as helicopter parts. The Air Force’s top military and civilian officers were fired this month, but now it turns out that hundreds—possibly thousands—of nuclear weapons components are missing. On Reporter's Notebook, comedian George Carlin remembered.
Making News
'Win or War' in Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai Pulls Out of Run-off ()
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe says only God will remove him from office. His opponent in Friday's run-off election, Morgan Tsvangirai, sought refuge today in the Dutch Embassy in Zimbabwe's capital city, Harare.
Guests:
- Celia Dugger: South African Co-Bureau Chief, The New York Times
Main Topic
Who's Watching the Nuclear Arsenal? ()
The Bush Administration is demanding that other countries tighten up on proliferation of nuclear materials and technology. But at the same time, the US is doing a poor job of maintaining its own arsenal of nuclear weapons. Six nuclear missiles were flown across the continental United States by mistake. Nuclear missile nose-cones were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan. After those incidents, the Secretary of the Air Force and its top civilian official were fired by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Now another embarrassment has surfaced: hundreds, perhaps thousands, of nuclear missile components have turned up missing.
Guests:
- Demetri Sevastopulo: Pentagon Correspondent for the Financial Times
- Philip Coyle: former Weapons Testing Director, Pentagon
- Frank Gaffney: President and Founder, Center for Security Policy
- Daryl Kimball: Executive Director of the Arms Control Association
Links:
Reporter's Notebook
Comedian George Carlin Dies ()
Drug use and dirty words got stand-up comedian George Carlin banned from NBC's Tonight Show. But when the same network started Saturday Night Live, George Carlin was the first guest host. Ultimately, he appeared with Johnny Carson 130 times. Carlin, who helped re-define an art form and was proudly "a footnote in legal history," died yesterday of heart failure at the age of 71.
Guests:
- Harry Shearer: Host, Le Show
Links:
CD copies of To the Point are available by calling 1.888.600.5279.
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