HUSKERS, DONT!: THE STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND ON THEIR OWN. HOW CLOSE DID THE US COME TO A NUCLEAR FIRST STRIKE IN 1961, 62,63? WHO CARES? IT HAS TO DO WITH SEEING WHO REALLY HAS POWER right now According to political scientist Scott Sagan in his book The Limits of Safety, the U.S. Air Force launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base on October 26, 1962, the day before the U-2 was shot down. The ICBM was unarmed, a test missile destined for Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. The Soviet Union could easily have thought otherwise. Three days before, a test missile at Vandenberg had received a nuclear warhead, changing it to full alert status for the crisis. By October 30, nine Vandenberg “test” missiles were armed for use against the Soviets.[103] At the height of the missile crisis, the Air Force’s October 26th launch of its missile could have been seen by the Soviets as the beginning of an attack. It was a dangerous provocation. Had the Soviets been suckered into giving any sign of a launch of their own, the entire array of U.S. missiles and bombers were poised to preempt them. They were already at the top rung of their nuclear war status, DefCon (Defense Condition)-2-- JFK and the Unspeakable.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 00:43:34 +0000
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