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>> THE LIST OF ACCIDENTS AND NEAR MISSES AROUND NUCLEAR
WEAPONS DO NOT MAKE FOR PEACEFUL BEDTIME READING.
ERIC SCHLOSSER, AUTHOR OF "FAST FOOD NATION" DOCUMENTS
THESE IN EXHAUSTIVE AND FRIGHTENING DETAIL IN HIS
BOOK, "COMMAND AND CONTROL; NUCLEAR WEAPONS THE DAMASCUS
ACCIDENT AND ILLUSION OF SAFETY."
SCHLOSSER SAT DOWN WITH NMIF PRODUCER MEGAN KAMERICK TO
TALK ABOUT BRUSHES WITH DISASTER AND WHERE THE BIGGEST
THREAT COMES FROM IN THE FUTURE.
>> ERIC SCHLOSSER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME. >> SO, I CAME OF AGE IN THE
1980'S WHEN THE COLD WAR WAS GETTING A LITTLE BIT HOTTER
AND I HAD NIGHTMARES ABOUT NUCLEAR ANNIHILATION.
HAVEN'T HAD THOSE IN YEARS BUT AFTER READING PARTS OF YOUR
BOOK, I THINK THAT IS BECAUSE I HAVEN'T BEEN PAYING
ATTENTION. >> ARE WE SAFER NOW THAN WE
WERE THEN OR SHOULD I BE JUST AS TERRIFIED?
>> THE DANGER NEVER WENT AWAY. BUT THE RISK OF ALL OUT
NUCLEAR WAR WAS FAR GREATER DURING THE COLD WAR.
UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE VERY BRIGHT PEOPLE, MUCH BRIGHTER
THAN MYSELF, WHO ARE NUCLEAR WEAPONS EXPERTS WHO THINK THAT
THE RISK OF A SINGLE WEAPON DETONATING IS PROBABLY GREATER
TODAY THAN IT WAS DURING THE COLD WAR AND THAT HAS TO DO
WITH THE SPREAD OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND IN SOME WAYS, NOT
AS CAREFUL MANAGEMENT AS THERE SHOULD BE.
>> WELL, TALK ABOUT THE INCIDENT IN DAMASCUS ARKANSAS
IN 1980, I THINK. >> YEAH. A TITAN II MISSILE
DAMAGED BY A FALLING TOOL PIERCED THE SKIN, CAUSED A
PROPELLANT LEAK. THE COMPLEX WAS DESTROYED, WE
DID NOT HAVE A GIANT NUCLEAR INCIDENT.
>> WHY DID YOU STRUCTURE THE BOOK AROUND THAT PARTICULAR
INCIDENT? >> AFTER I FINISHED WRITING
"FAST FOOD NATION" I WAS SPENDING TIME AT COLORADO
SPRINGS WITH THE AIR FORCE WHERE THEY HAVE SOME OF THE
TOP-SECRET INSTALLATIONS, WHERE THEIR U.S. SPACE COMMAND
AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND WERE HEADQUARTERED AT THE TIME AND
I WAS THERE TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT THE FUTURE OF WARFARE IN
SPACE BUT I BECAME MORE AND MORE INTERESTED IN NUCLEAR
WEAPONS BECAUSE MANY OFFICERS HAD SERVED AS LAUNCH OFFICERS
IN THE BALLISTIC MISSILE UNDERGROUND CONTROL CENTERS.
AND, ONE OF THEM TOLD ME THE STORY OF THIS EXTRAORDINARY
ACCIDENT IN DAMASCUS ARKANSAS, INVOLVING THIS MISSILE AND ITS
WARHEAD. >> THE MOST SOPHISTICATED
THING WE HAD BUILT. >> IT WAS THE MOST POWERFUL
NUCLEAR WARHEAD WE EVER PUT ON A MISSILE AND THAT ONE WARHEAD
WAS THREE TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN ALL THE BOMBS USED BY ALL
THE MILITARIES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR INCLUDING BOTH
ATOMIC BOMBS. THIS WAS A NINE MEGATON
WARHEAD. AND THE REASON THAT THE
ACCIDENT AND STORY OF THE ACCIDENT WAS FASCINATING ON SO
MANY LEVELS, A RELATIVELY TRIVIAL EVENT, A DROPPED
SOCKET IN THE SILO, SET IT IN MOTION.
THERE WAS EXTRAORDINARY PERSONAL COURAGE AND HEROISM
THAT NIGHT FOR HOURS AS THE AIR FORCE TRIED TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT TO DO, HOW TO SAVE THE MISSILE, HOW TO PREVENT A
NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE BUT ALSO THAT ONE ACCIDENT AND HOW IT
UNFOLDED ILLUSTRATED FOR ME SOME MUCH MORE IMPORTANT
THEMES OF THE BOOK AND ONE OF THOSE THEMES IS THE DIFFICULTY
OF CONTROLLING COMPLEX TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE SEEM TO BE MUCH BETTER AT MAKING THEM
THAN WE ARE AT CONTROLLING THEM.
AND IN THIS ACCIDENT, ONCE THE SKIN OF THE MISSILE IS
PIERCED, THOUSAND OF GALLONS OF HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, HIGHLY
EXPLOSIVE ROCKET FUEL ARE FILLING THE SILO.
THE AIR FORCE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO AND THEY DON'T KNOW
WHAT TO DO BECAUSE NOTHING LIKE IT HAD EVER HAPPENED
BEFORE. THIS MISSILE SYSTEM HAD BEEN
ON ALERT FOR 17 YEARS, SO -- >> THIS WAS A FALLING SOCKET,
KEEP THIS IN MIND. >> A WORKER WAS ON A STEEL
WORK PLATFORM, DROPPED THE SOCKET, IT BOUNCED ON THE
PLATFORM, HE REACHED FOR IT, ALMOST CAUGHT IT.
AND THEN IT FELL THROUGH A VERY NARROW GAP BETWEEN THE
WORK PLATFORM AND THE MISSILE. IT TOOK A ONE-IN-A-MILLION
BOUNCE, HIT THE MISSILE AND PIERCED THE SKIN.
AND IN TALKING TO OTHER -- THIS WAS A TITAN II MISSILE.
IN TALKING TO OTHER TITAN II MISSILE REPAIRMEN I
INTERVIEWED, THEY SAID TOOLS FELL IN THE SILO ALL THE TIME.
THERE WAS NEVER A PROBLEM. YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO ALL THE
WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SILO, GET THE TOOL, GO BACK
UP. THEY SAID IF YOU SAT ON THAT
WORK PLATFORM AND THREW A SOCKET 1000 TIMES DELIBERATELY
TRYING TO HIT THE MISSILE, YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO IT, SO
IT WAS REALLY A FREAK ACCIDENT.
BUT, YOU FIND AGAIN AND AGAIN WITH THESE NUCLEAR WEAPONS
ACCIDENTS THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN VERY, VERY BAD, A SIMPLE,
SIMPLE THING SET IT IN MOTION. >> THIS IS WHAT IS SO STRIKING
IN THE BOOK, THERE ARE MORE 1000 NUCLEAR WEAPONS INVOLVED
IN SIGNIFICANT ACCIDENTS OR INCIDENTS.
JUST BETWEEN LIKE 1950 AND 1968, I BELIEVE. MANY OF
THESE COULD HAVE BEEN DEVASTATING, SO, DOES THE FACT
THAT HUMAN INTERVENTION OR TECHNOLOGY, OR IN SOME CASES
JUST DUMB LUCK AVERTED THOSE, DOES THAT MEAN THE SYSTEM
WORKED? >> WELL, YOU CAN LOOK AT IT
TWO WAYS. THE SYSTEMS WORKED THUS FAR.
AND, IT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE EXTRAORDINARY TECHNICAL
COMPETENCE OF OUR WEAPONS LABORATORIES.
INCLUDING SANDIA, HERE IN ALBUQUERQUE, AND I WROTE AT
LENGTH ABOUT ENGINEERS AT SANDIA AND EFFORTS TO MAKE
NUCLEAR WEAPONS SAFE. IT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE
ADMINISTRATIVE SKILLS OF THE MILITARY, IN KEEPING CONTROL
OF THESE WEAPONS. IT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE
PERSONAL COURAGE AGAIN AND AGAIN OF ORDINARY SERVICEMEN
AND ENLISTED PERSONNEL WHO RISK THEIR LIVES AND SOMETIMES
LOST THEM IN ORDER TO PREVENT ONE OF THESE CATASTROPHES BUT
NUCLEAR WEAPON SAFETY ISN'T -- YOU KNOW IT IS NOT LIKE BEING
A BALL PLAYER. IF YOU'RE A BALL PLAYER, AND
YOU'RE OUT AT THE PLATE 70% OF THE TIME, YOU'RE 30% SUCCESS
RATE GIVES YOU A 300 BATTING AVERAGE AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE
AN ALL STAR. IN NUCLEAR WEAPON SAFETY, YOU
CAN HAVE PERFECT CUSTODY AND SAFE CUSTODY OF YOUR WEAPONS
EVERY SINGLE DAY AND THEN ONE DAY YOU DON'T AND ALL THOSE
OTHER DAYS DON'T REALLY MATTER.
>> I AM STRUCK BY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING THERE IS A TERRIBLE
STORY ABOUT RIGHT AFTER THE WAR, IN LOS ALAMOS, ABOUT A
MAN WHO HAD HELPED BUILD THE TRINITY BOMB SHOWING SOMEONE,
PUTTING BERYLLIUM SPHERE OVER A CORE AND THERE IS A MISTAKE,
VERY EASY MISTAKE, SOMETHING FLIPPED.
>> LOUIS SLOTIN, WHO WAS A MANHATTAN PROJECT SCIENTIST
WHO ASSEMBLED THE NUCLEAR CORE FOR THE FIRST TASK OF NUCLEAR
DEVICE AT ALAMOGORDO. >> CHAIN REACTION STARTS AND
HE BASICALLY CONTAINS IT BUT GETS A FATAL DOSE OF
RADIATION. >> HE HAD A SCREW DRIVER AND
HE WAS SLOWLY LOWERING THIS HEMISPHERE, TWO HEMISPHERES OF
A NUCLEAR CORE, TO DEMONSTRATE HOW YOU COULD START A CHAIN
REACTION AND THE HEMISPHERE FELL OFF THE SCREW DRIVER, IT
CLOSED, IT WENT SUPERCRITICAL AND IN THAT CASE, HE WAS ABLE
TO THEN, QUICKLY, DISASSEMBLE THIS ASSEMBLY AND SAVE THE
LIVES OF OTHER PEOPLE IN THE ROOM AND I WRITE ABOUT IT
BECAUSE HE WAS THE SAFETY DEVICE.
>> THAT IS WHAT THEY NEVER REPORT.
>> HE IS THE ONE THAT SAVED LIVES OF THE OTHER PEOPLE AND
HE WAS A BRILLIANT YOUNG MAN AND HIS DEATH THROUGH
RADIATION POISONING WAS CAPTURED ON FILM AT HIS
REQUEST AND THEN SHOWN TO CLASS AFTER CLASS OF MILITARY
AND CIVILIAN PEOPLE WHO HAD TO HANDLE NUCLEAR WEAPONS AS A
LESSON IN WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE.
>> YOU KNOW, THAT IS ASTOUNDING CONSIDERING THE
DOCUMENTARY I SAW WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE CALLED ATOMIC CAFE
AND SHOWS YOU ALL THE PROPAGANDA, WITH THIS DUCK AND
COVER. AND THEY KNEW WHAT BOMBS WOULD
DO. HIDING UNDER YOUR DESK WAS NOT
GOING TO STOP THAT. THERE WAS AN INCIDENT IN 1961
IN THE BOOK, ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE MOMENTS IN THE COLD
WAR, AMERICAN AND SOVIET TANKS ARE FACING EACH OTHER AT CHECK
POINT CHARLIE, AND ABOUT A MONTH LATER, I BELIEVE,
STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND IN NEBRASKA LOSES CONTACT WITH A
BALLISTIC MISSILE EARLY WARNING SYSTEM IN GREENLAND SO
THEY CALL NORAD IN COLORADO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON.
WELL, THEY CAN'T GET THROUGH EITHER.
THEY ASSUME THERE HAS BEEN AN ATTACK.
THEY SCRAMBLE HUNDREDS OF PLANES ALL OVER THE WORLD TO
GET READY TO GO UNTIL A B52 ALERTS SOMEONE, NO, WE HAVE
BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE BASE IN GREENLAND.
EVERYTHING IS OKAY. WE CAME CLOSE TO A NUCLEAR
WAR. HOW UNUSUAL IS THAT?
>> THAT WAS THE BLACK FOREST INCIDENT.
>> RIGHT AND I FORGOT TO SAY IT WAS BECAUSE OF ONE SWITCH
BY AT&T IN COLORADO THAT WENT OUT AND THERE WASN'T A
REDUNDANT SYSTEM. AMAZING.
>> THE COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM IS EXTRAORDINARILY
COMPLEX. BECAUSE IT HAS TO PROVIDE THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES THE ABILITY TO AUTHORIZE A
NUCLEAR STRIKE IN RETALIATION VERY QUICKLY.
DURING THE COLD WAR, IF THE SOVIET UNION HAD LAUNCHED
MISSILES FROM THE SOVIET UNION, THEY TAKE ABOUT A HALF
HOUR TO REACH THE U.S. IF THEY LAUNCH FROM SUBMARINES
OFF THE COAST, THEY COULD HIT WASHINGTON D.C. IN 10 MINUTES,
LESS THAN 10 MINUTES. SO, THE DECISION MAKING TIME,
ONCE YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE UNDER ATTACK, WAS
EXTRAORDINARILY BRIEF. AND ONE OF THE OTHER
REMARKABLE INCIDENTS OCCURRED IN 1980 AT A PERIOD AGAIN OF
HIGH INTERNATIONAL TENSION. SOVIET UNION HAD INVADED
AFGHANISTAN. WE HAD JUST SAID THAT WE WERE
GOING TO BOYCOTT THE OLYMPICS AND BRZEZINSKI, CARTER'S
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, HAD A TELEPHONE CALL IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE NIGHT FROM HIS MILITARY AIDE, GENERAL WILLIAM YODA,
AND WOKE UP BRZEZINSKI AND GENERAL YODA SAID 220 SOVIET
MISSILES ARE ON THEIR WAY TO THE U.S.
BRZEZINSKI SAID, I WANT YOU TO CHECK THAT OUT.
CALL ME BACK. >> PLEASE.
>> AND YODA CALLED HIM BACK, MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, AND SAID
I HAVE A CORRECTION, IT IS ACTUALLY 2,200 MISSILES
HEADING TOWARDS THE U.S. AND BRZEZINSKI TOLD HIM TO
CHECK AGAIN AND BRZEZINSKI PREPARED TO CALL CARTER AND
DISCUSS OUR RETALIATORY OPTIONS AND AS BRZEZINSKI WAS
THERE AT NIGHT, HIS WIFE WAS ASLEEP BESIDE HIM AND HE
DECIDED NOT TO WAKE HER IN CASE WASHINGTON WAS ABOUT TO
BE INCINERATED. SHE WOULD NEVER KNOW.
WILLIAM YODA CALLED BACK, SAID, SORRY, FALSE ALARM, AND
IT WAS LATER TRACED BACK TO A DEFECTIVE COMPUTER CHIP AT
NORAD THAT WAS SENDING OUT AN ERRONEOUS SIGNAL THAT WE WERE
UNDER ATTACK. IT NEVER GOT TO THE POINT OF
CARTER ACTUALLY DELIBERATING WHETHER TO RETALIATE OR NOT,
BUT AGAIN AND AGAIN, THERE ARE THESE CLOSE CALLS AND YOU CAN
SAY THE SYSTEM WORKED AND IN ONE SENSE IT DID, BUT IT
ALMOST DIDN'T. AND THERE IS NO GUARANTEE IT
WILL CONTINUE TO WORK FLAWLESSLY.
>> ONE THING YOU BRING UP IS THAT ANOTHER OF THESE
INCIDENTS, THERE ARE SO MANY, IT IS KIND OF TERRIFYING, THAT
NORWAY LAUNCHED AN EXPERIMENTAL MISSILE IN 1995
TO STUDY THE NORTHERN LIGHTS, HAD TOLD RUSSIA AHEAD OF TIME,
BUT, WHATEVER, THE MEMO DIDN'T REACH YELTSIN AND GETS THE
FOOTBALL, THE LAUNCH CODE, AND IS READY TO FIRE OFF A U.S.
ATTACK AND THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN BUT YOU EXHAUSTIVELY DOCUMENT
THESE FROM THE U.S. SIDE. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED IN THE SOVIET UNION AND RUSSIA DURING THIS TIME?
>> I VERY MUCH DELIBERATELY FOCUSED ON THE MANAGEMENT OF
THE AMERICAN ARSENAL. BECAUSE, I WAS ABLE TO USE
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS AND INTERVIEW FORMER
WEAPONS DESIGNERS, FORMER BOMBER CREW MEMBERS, LAUNCH
CREW MEMBERS, PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN NUCLEAR WEAPON REPAIRMEN
AND I DON'T SPEAK RUSSIAN AND I HAD NO ACCESS TO RUSSIAN
ARCHIVAL SOURCES, BUT AS CRITICAL AS I AM IN MANY CASES
OF THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR ARSENAL, I THINK THAT WE
PROBABLY HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB THAN ANYONE IN THE WORLD.
WE INVENTED THIS TECHNOLOGY, PROBABLY HAVE THE BEST SAFETY
MECHANISMS OF ANYONE AND IF YOU LOOK AT RUSSIA AND YOU
LOOK AT HOW THEY MANAGE NUCLEAR PROCESSING FACILITIES,
THERE WERE CLEARLY HUGE EXPLOSIONS.
THERE WAS A HUGE CONTAMINATION WITH PLUTONIUM AND OTHER
RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS AS THEY WERE PROCESSING THE SILO
MATERIAL AND THEY HAVE A HISTORY OF FIRES ON NUCLEAR
WEAPONS SUBMARINES; A SERIOUS FIRE ON A NUCLEAR WEAPONS
SUBMARINE TWO YEARS AGO THAT WAS LOADED WITH, I THINK, 16
MISSILES, WITH FOUR WARHEADS EACH.
SO, I AM HOPING SOMEONE THERE WRITES THIS BOOK.
>> IT IS MORE DANGEROUS THERE? >> THIS IS INFORMATION THAT IS
IMPORTANT AND AT THE END OF THE BOOK, I LOOK AT THE RATE
OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES AS A ROUGH
MEASURE OF THOSE NATIONS' ABILITY TO MANAGE COMPLEX
TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND INDIA, PAKISTAN, RUSSIA, THESE
ARE COUNTRIES THAT WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE
MANAGEMENT OF THEIR NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
>> TALK ABOUT THAT; WHERE DOES THE RISK LIE TODAY?
IS IT SOUTH ASIA. >> I THINK THE GREATEST RISK
LIES IN SOUTH ASIA. ONE OF THE MOST DISTURBING
THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF EDWARD SNOWDEN'S REVELATIONS THAT
THEY GOT THROUGH THE NSA, I MEAN, FOR AN INVESTIGATIVE
JOURNALIST, THE NOTION THAT YOUR EMAIL IS BEING READ AND
CELL PHONE TAPPED, YOU KNOW, THAT IS NOT THAT REMARKABLE.
I HATE TO SEE THAT IT IS TRUE BUT YOU JUST ASSUME IT COULD
BE TRUE. BUT WHAT WAS REALLY DISTURBING
TO ME FROM THE SNOWDEN REVELATIONS WERE THE DOCUMENTS
HE FOUND SAYING THAT OUR INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY REALLY
DOESN'T KNOW HOW PAKISTAN IS STORING NUCLEAR WEAPONS, HOW
THEY MOVE AND TRANSPORT THEM, HOW THEY ARE MANAGING THEM AND
THERE IS AN AREA WHERE YOU NOT ONLY HAVE A HIGH RISK OF THE
THEFT OF A WEAPON BY EXTREMISTS, EITHER WITHIN THE
PAKISTANI MILITARY OR EXTREMISTS WHO HAVE SHOWN
THEMSELVES VERY GOOD AT ATTACKING PAKISTAN'S MILITARY
BASES, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE A SITUATION WHICH THE KIND OF
COLD WAR ARMS RACE THAT EXISTED BETWEEN THE U.S. AND
SOVIET UNION IS NOW BEING MIMICKED ON A SMALLER SCALE
BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN. >> MUCH CLOSER TO EACH OTHER,
MUCH MORE VOLATILE. >> MUCH CLOSER AND THERE IS
SOMETHING ABOUT THE HATRED BETWEEN NEIGHBORS THAT IS MUCH
MORE INTENSE. I MEAN, WE HAD IDEOLOGICAL
DIFFERENCES WITH THE SOVIET UNION.
WE WERE COMPETING FOR POWER GLOBALLY BUT THE
INDIA-PAKISTAN HATRED IS DEEP, WITH A LONG HISTORY AND WITH
NUCLEAR WEAPONS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FLIGHT TIMES OF
MISSILE IS PROBABLY FIVE OR SIX MINUTES AND IF ONE OF
THOSE COUNTRIES THINKS THEY ARE UNDER ATTACK, THE PRESSURE
TO LAUNCH THEIR OWN WEAPONS QUICKLY IS ENORMOUS AND YOU
DON'T WANT MISTAKES MADE IN THAT SITUATION.
>> ONE LAST QUESTION FOR YOU BECAUSE IS THERE ANYTHING THAT
YOU CAN GIVE US IN TERMS OF HOPE FOR A FUTURE?
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
SHOULD WE TRY TO GET RID OF ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
CAN WE REALLY PUT THAT BACK IN THE BOTTLE?
SOME OF THE GREATEST HAWKS OF THE COLD WAR HAVE CALLED FOR
THAT, KISSINGER, GEORGE SCHULTZ.
IS THERE ALTERNATIVE TO THAT, BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT
IS NAIVE. >> I SPENT SIX YEARS EMERSED
IN THE SUBJECT, RESEARCHING AND WRITING IT AND IT DID NOT
LEAVE ME APOCALYPTIC. I DO NOT BELIEVE WE ARE
DOOMED. THE REASON I WROTE THE BOOK IS
I THINK THIS INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT.
WE NEED TO HAVE A NATIONAL DEBATE IN THIS COUNTRY OVER
NUCLEAR WEAPONS, HOW MANY DO WE NEED, WHAT ARE THEY FOR?
WHO ARE THEY TO BE AIMED AT? HOW SHOULD THEY BE DEPLOYED ON
MISSILES OR BOMBERS OR SUBMARINES.
THIS SUBJECT IS LARGELY FORGOTTEN AND I REALLY DO
BELIEVE THAT IF WE DON'T CUT BACK THE NUMBER OF NUCLEAR
WEAPONS IN THE WORLD AND IF THE SORT OF ARM RACE THAT IS
GOING ON IN SOUTH ASIA CONTINUES AND EXTENDS TO THE
MIDDLE EAST, A MAJOR CITY WILL AT SOME POINT BE DESTROYED BY
A NUCLEAR WEAPON. IT IS NOT INEVITABLE BUT IN A
PRACTICAL SENSE, OF COURSE, I SUPPORT ABOLITION OF NUCLEAR
WEAPONS SOME DAY, BUT BEFORE THAT DAY COMES, WHAT WE CAN DO
IN THIS COUNTRY IS SPARE NO EXPENSE IN HOW WE MANAGE THEM,
MAKE SURE EQUIPMENT IS UP TO DATE, PERSONNEL ARE WELL
TRAINED AND IN AN INTERNATIONAL SENSE, WE NEED A
GLOBAL CONFERENCE THAT BRINGS TOGETHER ALL THE MAJOR NUCLEAR
POWERS. RIGHT NOW CHINA'S NUCLEAR
ARSENAL ISN'T UNDER ANY KIND OF INSPECTION OR VERIFICATION
SCHEME, LIKE OURS IS AND RUSSIA'S IS AND WE NEED TO
TALK ABOUT REDUCING THE NUMBER OF THESE WEAPONS BECAUSE THESE
ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS MACHINES WE EVER BUILT AND
THEY GO WRONG. >> MANY OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY
NOT TOO FAR FROM THE STUDIO, ACCORDING TO YOUR BOOK.
>> ONE OF THE BIGGEST STORAGE FACILITIES IN THE U.S. IS
RIGHT THERE IN THE MANZANO MOUNTAINS.
>> ERIC, I APPRECIATE YOU TALKING WITH US.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME. >> YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A LOT
MORE TO HAVE MORE NIGHTMARES ABOUT.
>> BUT IT IS ALSO A REMINDER TO ENJOY THE DAY.
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANKS.