Shelton (last): Lost nuclear codes and sabotaging NoKo's weapons exports

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Friday, October 15, 2010 - 8:01 AM Share

Finally, I'm ending my Week of General Shelton Posts with a couple of things in his memoirs that struck me as revelatory. Which is only to say that I hadn't heard about them before, and for 17 years I covered this stuff full-time.

First, he reports, a bit mysteriously, that late in the Clinton administration, the president's authorization codes to use nuclear weapons strike were lost. He doesn't really explain what happened or who knew about it, except that the guy who was supposed to make sure once a month that an aide to the president had the codes kept getting the runaround, and putting up with it. It turned out that an aide to the president had misplaced the codes, and had no idea where they were. The situation only came to light when it was time to collect the old codes and replace them with new ones, and the aide apparently confessed. Shelton tells the story a bit oddly -- I had to read this section a few times. I am guessing that the story is about the nuclear "football" that a military aide carries. It made me wonder what happened to that aide. Also, what would have happened if the president had decided to launch a nuclear strike? (392-393)

Second, Shelton reports that when he was chief of the Special Operations Command before becoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs in 1997, the CIA learned that a ship was coming out of North Korea carrying "an illegal weapon." (He isn't more specific, but I am guessing it is some sort of missile or missile-related technology.) And the ship was going to pass through the Panama Canal. So, he says, part of SEAL Team Six went in and was able to "'immobilize' in a special way without leaving a trace." (279) I was glad to hear this -- you always hope that this is the sort of thing Special Operators do, but obviously you never hear much about it. In fact, I was sort of surprised that Shelton felt able to disclose it. But keep it in mind the next time an Iranian missile launch mysteriously fails. Hmmm…

If you buy the book, I'd advise starting about halfway through. Every quotation I have used from the book this week has come after page 250.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

EXPLORE:MILITARY, NORTH KOREA
 

TYRTAIOS

1:55 PM ET

October 15, 2010

More lost weapons turn up

As usual, I have nothing useful on the subject at hand. However, I liked Tom's inclusion of “keep it in mind the next time an Iranian missile launch mysteriously fails. Hmmm” based on what he read in Shelton's new book.

Which brings me to the information that came my way that a series of explosions are known to have occurred, with casualties, at the Iranian Imam Ali missile base where they keep their Shehab-3 medium range ballistic missiles. Which, just by coincidence of course, happen to look like the N. Korean BM-25 Musudan missile recently spotted on parade in Kim Il Sung Square.

I wonder if any copies of these missiles went via the Panama Canal. . . .Hmmm?

 

JPWREL

2:36 PM ET

October 15, 2010

TYRTAIOS, didn't the Soviet's

TYRTAIOS, didn't the Soviet's show off truck born missiles in their assorted parades that western observers determined were really empty tubes by noting that the trucks tires were exhibiting no compression?

 

JPWREL

2:40 PM ET

October 15, 2010

Three cheers for DEVGRU!

Hats off to the lads in DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6) and the games they play. If the general public had any notion of what kind of training, planning and preparation goes into each and every mission they would be truly astounded.

 

TYRTAIOS

4:22 PM ET

October 15, 2010

I like SEAL

In retrospect, I'm wondering if Shelton got a little blabby? Though I certainly don't know the context of the statement quoted, the retired General is only giving the Iranian hard right more reason to be paranoid toward the U.S., which one has to admit, one can't blame them to some degree?

If this mission was actually carried-out (not a rehearsal), The Eye-ranians would know by now if they received sabotaged systems, and this might only confirm their suspicions.

Incidentally, I too like SEAL, especially battered and deep fried - yummy! Just kidding - or am I? : )

 

CEOUNICOM

7:19 PM ET

October 15, 2010

re: SEAL Team Six

ditto JPWREL...

as you point out, technically, there *is no* seal team 6; as you said - it's DEVGRU. Seal 6 was disbanded in 1987. I know people still use the "6" label colloquially, but its sort of misleading.

 

GUYVER

11:12 PM ET

October 15, 2010

Provoking war with Iraq was my favorite part

The word is Madeleine Albright suggested intentionally flying an American airplane on a low pass over Baghdad so as to guarantee it will be shot down, thus creating a natural excuse to reltaliate and go to war.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/15/hugh-shelton-book-clinton-iraq-war-albright_n_764403.html

 

WALKING WOUNDED

4:37 AM ET

October 16, 2010

Suggestions that the other guys department go poke the tiger

Suggestions that the other guys department go poke the tiger and bait the hornets may face resistance from the implementers. Schultz played the confrontation advocate to Weinbergers caution, but Reagan's DoD wasn't as close to the Israeli agenda as in later admins.

Madeleine remains a hawk, and has never accepted Team W's 'lack of WMD' findings.

 

BILL KELLER

7:30 AM ET

October 16, 2010

DADT Judgement creates more fear at the Pentagon....

....than bin Laden, North Korea, Iran and Rummey!

Upholding the Constitution involves a real commitment not required for flag rank previously. Bet they are seeking out Yoo and Murdoch to justify and promote enhanced interrogation of pesky federal judges.

 

ROOM237

3:38 PM ET

October 16, 2010

Lost Nuclear Codes

This is not the first time someone has claimed the Clinton White House lost the nuclear codes. I remember some Air Force officer making the same accusation about a decade ago. IIRC, the presdient was distracted by the Lewinski matter and lost his personal codes.

 

SUPERGROVER

8:40 PM ET

October 16, 2010

I know I had them around here somewhere...

It sounds like it was the presidential identity card that was lost, not the briefcase 'football'.

from the always authoritative Wkikipedia ;}
"Before the order can be processed by the military, the President must be positively identified using a special code issued on a plastic card, nicknamed the "biscuit"."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_football

This may be what ROOM237 remembers:

March 16, 2003
Book Says Clinton Lost Nuclear Codes
U.S. News and World Report's Washington Whispers gives an unusually strong plug for a new book that says former President Clinton lost the codes to nuclear war the day the Monica Lewinsky affair broke. The book, Dereliction of Duty: The Eyewitness Account of How President Bill Clinton Endangered America's Long-Term National Security, was written by Lt. Col. Robert Patterson.
politicalwire.com/archives/2003/03/16/book_says_clinton_lost_nuclear_codes.html

The BBC says Carter also misplaced them:

April 26, 1999
US President Bill Clinton left a Nato summit meeting in such haste that he left behind perhaps the most important piece of luggage in the world - the "nuclear football".

Other incidents include:
Left on board Air Force One in Paris when Gerald Ford arrived at economic summit
Jimmy Carter left codes in his suit when it was sent to the dry cleaners
Separated from Ronald Reagan when he was shot in 1981

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/328442.stm

 

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military for the Washington Post from 2000 through 2008.

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