Top officials deny viral nuke story

WASHINGTON – Top military and congressional sources have denied reports that unauthorized transfers of America's nuclear weapons have occurred and that the suspension of a Navy admiral and firing of a top Air Force general followed a fight inside government ranks about the alleged situation.

Several publications have carried reports on the topic in recent days, including concerns expressed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., over nuclear weapons in his state as well as the removal of several military officers.

There have also been stories about the reported transfers of nuclear weaponry.

One example was Storyleak, where author Anthony Gucciardi reported a "secret and unsigned nuclear weapons transfer" from Dyess Air Force base to South Carolina.

He also reported that two of the nation's top nuclear commanders were suspended and fired following the report.

"What this means,” he wrote, “is that the nuke commanders were terminated behind the scenes in a move that was not meant to hit the public eye – especially not the fact that the second in command was fired on the same day of the leaked nuclear transfer. More importantly, shedding light on the secret transfer of nuclear weapons and the numerous red flags that prove its validity is key in stopping the psychopathic control freaks in government from going through with Graham's 'warnings' of a nuclear explosion that would lead to a war with Syria."

But U.S. Strategic Command spokesman Charles Ramey told WND the dismissal and suspension of the two flag officers from that agency were for personal reasons and that no transfers of nuclear weapons from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas to South Carolina occurred.

Ramey said there was no connection between personnel actions against the flag officers and any movement of nuclear weapons.

He acknowledged a 2007 incident in which nuclear weapons went missing for some 36 hours at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

In that case, cruise missiles still armed with nuclear warheads were mistakenly loaded on a B-52H bomber at Minot and transported to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

The warheads were supposed to have been removed prior to the transport of the missiles.

The investigation that followed this "Bent Spear" episode – meaning a nuclear weapon incident – determined that nuclear weapons handling procedures had not been followed by numerous Air Force personnel.

Ultimately, four Air Force commanders were relieved of their commands over the incident.

The recent viral Internet postings, however, have reported that Graham was concerned over nuclear weapons in South Carolina – and that nuclear weapons had been transferred to South Carolina from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.

The reports tied the alleged unauthorized transfer of the nukes to South Carolina with the firing of an Air Force top general and suspension of a Navy admiral who held command authority over the nation's nuclear ballistic missiles under USStratcom.

Those viral online postings referred to the firing of Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, which actually appears to have been over "personal misbehavior" while on temporary duty at an unspecified location outside his usual command.

In addition, they referenced Navy Vice Adm. Tim Giardina's demotion, after he apparently was relieved of his post as second-in-command at USStratcom as a result of a separate gambling investigation.

The senator's statements also originally expressed his opinion that without a U.S. military response to Syria's alleged chemical weapons use, a country such as Iran would not believe America's resolve to block Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The senator then added that nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists could result in a bomb coming to Charleston Harbor.

But the reports made connections between the senator’s statements and other reported situations, resulting in the suggestion of a nuclear terror threat against Charleston over nuclear warheads being shipped there from Texas.

"Graham is quite literally saying that if we do not launch a war with Syria, South Carolina may be nuked," said one report.

The online reports did include statements from an unidentified military source who claimed the weapons transfers were being done with no signature.

In response to a WND inquiry, Kevin Bishop of Graham's office said that linking the senator's comments with alleged "loose nukes" was inaccurate.

"They … are conflating different statements Sen. Graham has made," Bishop wrote in an email to WND. "He talked about his fear of a nuclear weapon making its way from someplace like Iran and being put on a ship which ends up in Charleston Harbor. … Alex Jones was talking about some loose nukes in Texas."