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New book ‘Command and Control’ spills the beans on America’s nuclear weapons unsafety

In a new book, the ‘Fast Food Nation’ author investigates the many near-misses that could have caused catastrophes Rolling Stone, By  Ryan Devereaux September 16, 2013  Longtime RS contributor Eric Schlosser’s new book, ‘Command and Control,’ reveals long-hidden secrets about America’s nuclear weapons program

It was a one-in-a-million bounce: A socket slipped from a wrench and fell about 70 feet before piercing the fuel tank of the most powerful missile in the United States’ nuclear arsenal. What followed was a race to prevent an explosion that could have incinerated the state of Arkansas.

In his new book, Command and Control, award-winning investigative journalist and longtime Rolling Stone contributor Eric Schlosser reveals how this disaster was narrowly avoided at a Damascus, Arkansas missile silo in 1980 – and shows that it was just one incident in an ongoing pattern of near-misses and bureaucratic blunders that have brought America to the nuclear brink again and again. Drawing on six years of research, Schlosser challenges and expands on the U.S. government’s secretive record regarding nuclear accidents.

The best-selling author of 2001’s Fast Food Nation – which began as an exposé published in RS – likens his new book to a foot soldier’s history of World War II, relying on the firsthand accounts of U.S. service members. His interview subjects, many of whom served at the height of the Cold War, have been called on time and again to prevent nuclear devastation, often at tremendous personal risk.

Command and Control hits bookstores tomorrow. Schlosser called RS to explain the results of his latest eye-opening research, and make the case for nuclear disarmament. “I’m not apocalyptic,” he says. “But I think we have to confront this issue.”

Let’s get the big question out of the way: How many times have we just barely avoided nuclear armageddon in the U.S.?

That’s a good question. It’s a very secretive subject, and I did my best, through interviews and through the Freedom of Information Act, to get as much information as I could on these accidents…….  http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/q-a-eric-schlosser-on-the-secret-history-of-americas-nuclear-arsenal-20130916#ixzz2fCZT9OzE

September 17, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | resources - print