DATE=10/28/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=U-S NUKES / WORLDWIDE
NUMBER=5-44640
BYLINE=ANDRE DE NESNERA
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// EDS: This is the first of a two-part series on a
recently released Pentagon report on the stationing of
American nuclear weapons overseas. The second will
deal specifically with Cuba.
Both pieces can be used for weekend broadcasts.
///
INTRO: An article in "The Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists" chronicles the stationing of U-S nuclear
weapons overseas and for the first time provides a
glimpse of U-S nuclear policy at the height of the
Cold War. National Security Correspondent Andre de
Nesnera spoke with the authors of the article - and
he filed this report from Washington.
TEXT: The article is based on a recently declassified,
Pentagon history dealing with the deployment of U-S
nuclear weapons overseas from 1945 to 1977.
One of the co-authors of the article - weapons expert
Robert Norris - says during that time period, American
nuclear weapons were stationed in 27 countries and U-S
territories - such as Puerto-Rico.
/// NORRIS ACT ///
At the peak period - which is the late sixties
and early seventies - there were approximately
12,000 U-S nuclear weapons outside the borders
(of the United States). About 7,000 of those
were in NATO Europe. About 2,000 in Pacific
countries: in places like Korea, the
Philippines, Guam and Okinawa up until 1972 -
and then about another 3,000 were what the
Pentagon calls `afloat' - or on the high seas
aboard ships of various kinds: aircraft
carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates and
attack submarines.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Norris says the weapons stationed overseas
represented all types in the U-S nuclear arsenal: from
land mines to long-range missiles, from naval weapons
to surface-to-air missiles.
Co-author William Arkin says the declassified Pentagon
history reveals for the first time that the United
States built two kinds of nuclear weapons. The first
one had the bomb's fissile material - the plutonium
and uranium cores - as an integral part of the nuclear
weapon. But in the second variety, the plutonium and
uranium cores were separated from the nuclear weapon -
and only inserted when needed.
/// ARKIN ACT ///
And why did the (U-S) "Atomic Energy Commission"
build two types of nuclear weapons? The very
reason was because there were places like Japan
and Iceland, France, where host nation
sensitivities would allow no nuclear weapon on
their soil. And yet the "Strategic Air Command"
and the Air Force and NATO wanted nuclear
weapons in their arsenals - this was during the
Cold War - and so the United States was able to
put nuclear weapons on those soils and yet say
publicly to the governments: "We do not have
nuclear weapons here" because the nuclear
materials were held somewhere else.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Arkin says the Pentagon history also reveals clear
instances where host nations were not informed of the
presence of U-S nuclear weapons on their soil. One
such case was Morocco, which began receiving complete
U-S nuclear bombs in July 1954.
/// SECOND ARKIN ACT ///
This is prior to Morocco becoming an independent
country, it was a French territory at the time -
where nuclear weapons were stored at American S-
A-C bases, "Strategic Air Command" bases in
Morocco - and it was explicitly stated that the
French government should not be told of that. So
we both have explicit examples - as in the case
of French Morocco - and what appears to be clear
evidence that in other cases - such as in
Iceland or Greenland - which is a territory of
Denmark - the host nations were just not aware.
/// END ACT ///
It took Mr. Arkin and Mr. Norris (as well as the third
co-author, William Burr) several years to get the
Pentagon history declassified under the "Freedom of
Information Act" which allows individuals to request
specific documents heretofore deemed secret.
Mr. Norris says what they received was a 330-page
document, including an alphabetical list of countries
where US nuclear weapons were stationed. But he says
parts of that list were censored.
/// SECOND NORRIS ACT ///
When the Pentagon gave us this document - which
took about five years for them to declassify -
there were blacked out parts of it and among the
blacked out parts of it, were the names of some
of these countries: some of the countries were
left in, some were blacked out. The Pentagon
acknowledged there were nuclear weapons in Cuba
or the United Kingdom or West Germany or some
other places and why they chose to black others
out remains to be seen.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Norris says since the list was in alphabetical
order and using other corroborating evidence, they
could fill in the gaps. For example 18 countries were
blacked out - including Canada, the Philippines,
Spain, Greece, Turkey and Italy. Mr. Norris says one
blacked out country in the alphabetical listing still
remains a mystery: it falls between Canada and Cuba.
Asked to assess the just-released article, Pentagon
officials repeated the long-standing U-S policy of not
commenting on the location of American nuclear
weapons. At a recent briefing, senior spokesman Ken
Bacon said the article contained some errors - but he
did not elaborate. (Signed)
// EDS: Here is the complete list of the 27
`destinations' of U-S nuclear weapons overseas. Those
that were blacked out in the Pentagon report are in
capital letters and one remains a mystery: Alaska,
CANADA, ???, Cuba, GREENLAND, Guam, Hawaii, ICELAND,
JAPAN, Johnston Island, KWAJALEIN, Midway, MOROCCO,
OKINAWA, PHILIPPINES, Puerto Rico, REPUBLIC OF KOREA,
SPAIN, TAIWAN. Nato Europe: BELGIUM, FRANCE, GREECE,
ITALY, NETHERLANDS, TURKEY, United Kingdom, West
Germany.
The United States currently stations between 6-
8,000 nuclear weapons in seven European countries:
Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey
and the United Kingdom.
NEB/ADEN/KL
28-Oct-1999 13:37 PM EDT (28-Oct-1999 1737 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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