Stephen Schwartz

Also …

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

— George Orwell, 1984

This cannot happen soon enough.

I think so, but it was hard to tell for sure from the ground.

The tower formerly known as Sears, Thursday evening, Chicago.

I feel the need {slap!} the need for radioactive speed.

Sure. Here's the 15-kiloton 1953 GRABLE test, where the warhead exploded 524 feet above the ground. In the first part, you can see the shockwave literally bouncing off the ground and reflecting back into the fireball. One goal of this test was to study blast effects on military equipment.

For British nuclear weapons accidents, see the official 1992 Oxburgh report (especially Annex F, www.nuclearinfo.org/wp-content/u...), BASIC's response to that report (www.nuclearinfo.org/wp-content/u...), and this Ministry of Defense release under FOIA in 2005 (www.nuclearinfo.org/wp-content/u...)

For the Soviet Union/Russia relatively little (apart from several catastrophic Russian submarine accidents). For example: bsky.app/profile/atom..., bsky.app/profile/atom..., bsky.app/profile/atom..., and bsky.app/profile/atom....

Technically, the military command center shown in "A House of Dynamite" is not the War Room, it's the Battle Deck at STRATCOM.

The War Room—officially the National Military Command Center—is deep inside the Pentagon and looked like this in 1976 (there aren't any public photos after the mid-1980s).

2016 Paris Agreement on climate change, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran, the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and the Open Skies Treaty. They also failed to extend New START—the last treaty limiting US/Russian strategic nuclear weapons (expires February 5, 2026).

A color photograph of a US Air Force Open Skies Boeing OC-135B observation aircraft coming in for a landing (note the "OPEN SKIES" designation on the tail).

Copy of a November 22, 2020, US State Department press release of a statement by Cale Brown, principal deputy spokesman: "Treaty on Open Skies On May 22, 2020, the United States exercised its right pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article XV of the Treaty on Open Skies by providing notice to the Treaty Depositaries and to all States Parties of its decision to withdraw from the Treaty, effective six months from the notification date. Six months having elapsed, the U.S. withdrawal took effect on November 22, 2020, and the United States is no longer a State Party to the Treaty on Open Skies."

Five years ago today, the United States officially withdrew from the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, having given notice of its intentions on May 22, 2020, citing spurious Russian “violations” as the reason.

In less than four years, Donald Trump and his unilateralist wrecking crew abandoned the …

And also because all US Navy surface ships, attack submarines, and land-based aircraft have not carried any nuclear weapons since 1992, after President George H.W. Bush unilaterally ordered their removal and retirement in September 1991.

A Google Maps image showing the former 583rd US Army Ordnance Company storage depot for nuclear weapons (circled in red), situated on forested land near farms and located south of Ostbevern and east of Telgte.

A zoomed-in Google Maps image showing the former 583rd US Army Ordnance Company storage depot for nuclear weapons, situated on forested land near farms to the south of Ostbevern and to the east of Telgte.

The article does not mention nuclear weapons but states that German police were barred from the accident site by military personnel. @okomuenster.bsky.social says a follow-up article a few days later confirmed it was a US CH-47 helicopter (and not a British one, as one source initially reported).

A copy of an article in the November 23, 1997 edition of Westfälische Nachrichten, under the headline "Keiner worde gestern verietzt Miitärhubschrauber-Absturz in der Nähe von Telgte." A partial translation (from German): "Telgte — An eyewitness reported that the helicopter crashed immediately after the take-off maneuver: It is said that it was only thanks to the pilot's flying skills that there were no injuries in the crash of a military helicopter of the type 'Chinnok - CH 47' between Teigte and Ostbovern (Warendorf district). The aircraft took off from the NATO depot at Ostbevern at around 2:20 p.m. Eyewitnesses reported to 'Westfälische Nachrichten' [the local newspaper] that parts of the defective first engine flew to the second engine, which was also damaged. With its snout [front end], the helicopter crashed into a freshly harvested field of farmer Heinrich Elbrich. The field is located on the border between Telgte and Ostbevern just south of the NATO depot. Eyewitnesses reported a small fire that was quickly put out. The people on board remained uninjured. The scene of the accident was hermetically sealed off by military personnel immediately after the crash. Even German police were not allowed, according to the police station at Warendorf. Late in the evening, the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Fleet confirmed at Mönchengledbach that it was a heavy British Transport helicopter. The confirmation of the British Rhine army was not yet available when this newspaper went to print. Different reports said that the helicopter was an American chopper stationed in southern Germany."

The location of this DULL SWORD incident was redacted in the report, but a November 23, 1977, article in Westfälische Nachrichten (h/t @okomuenster.bsky.social) says it occurred between Telgte and Ostbevern (near a US depot storing nuclear warheads for British, Belgian, and West German army units).

The CH-47 bounced once and slid about 15 meters. An internal extinguisher put out the fire (reportedly caused by a pine cone sucked into the engine). The warhead shipping containers aboard did not shift, appeared undamaged, and were offloaded and returned to the Army depot by another helicopter.

A color aerial photograph of a CH-47 Chinook heavy lifting helicopter in flight over mountains, as seen from its right side. The helicopter is painted dark green and features two large rotors forward and aft and four porthole-style windows on its right side.

A difficult-to-read (owing to it being a copy of a copy of a copy), formerly classified, partially redacted November 28, 1977, cable to various army commands in Europe and the United States describing the November 1977 accident involving a CH-47 helicopter transporting nuclear warheads as part of a logistical movement.

Today in 1977, a US Army CH-47 helicopter transporting an unspecified type and number of nuclear warheads from an Army depot near Münster, West Germany, dropped rapidly just after takeoff when its No. 1 engine caught fire, hitting a row of trees and landing hard in a farm field 200-300 meters away.

Copy of the first page of an undated (circa 1981) Department of Defense report titled, “Department of Defense — Narrative Summaries of Accidents Involving U.S. Nuclear Weapons, 1950-1980."

In response, the Navy insisted, “It is US government policy neither to confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons .... The 1981 Department of Defense report [describing 32 BROKEN ARROWS from 1950-80] is correct in that no nuclear weapons were affected by the 1975 Belknap-Kennedy collision.”

Copy of an article in the May 25, 1989, edition of the New York Times, “Fire Threatened A Ship’s A-Bombs.”

The accident killed seven sailors on the Belknap and one on the Kennedy. The fact that nuclear weapons were aboard both vessels—and that initially a BROKEN ARROW was a serious concern—was not revealed until May 1989, when researchers at Greenpeace obtained and released declassified Navy documents.

Copy of the formerly SECRET NOFORN emergency flash message sent by Admiral Carroll after the accident to the National Military Command Center, the Chief of Naval Operations, and others, declaring a BROKEN ARROW and noting the presence of an unknown number of W45 warheads aboard the Belknap. The message is stamped FLASH three times and NOFORN (No Foreign Dissemination) once. Excerpt: “This report is to alert ALCON of high probability that nuclear weapons on USS Belknap were involved in fire and explosions subsequent to collision. … No positive indications that explosions were directly related to nuclear weapons”

Shortly after the collision, Admiral Eugene Carroll, commander of Carrier Striking Forces for the US Sixth Fleet, sent a flash message to his superiors, declaring a probable BROKEN ARROW aboard the Belknap. An hour later, others on scene determined that there was “no radiation hazard.”

A black and white photograph showing a Terrier missile launcher on an US Navy ship. Two officers in uniform are standing in front of the launcher, one of them pointing at one of the two missiles with his raised left hand.

Inside that magazine were 6 Terrier surface-to-air missiles armed with W45 nuclear warheads (each with a variable yield of 1 or 5 kilotons). The Kennedy was also carrying nuclear weapons at the time of the accident: approximately 100 air-delivered gravity bombs.

A black and white photograph showing the USS Belknap after the accident, with the location of the forward magazine for the W45 warheads for the Terrier missiles circled in red. Nearly the entire superstructure has been destroyed by the collision and melted in the resulting fire. Some sailors can be seen standing on deck on aft portion of the ship.

The Kennedy’s massive flight deck sliced into the Belknap’s superstructure, severing a fuel line on the Kennedy and setting off multiple fires on the Belknap, which burned out of control for two-and-a-half hours and came within 40 feet of the Belknap’s nuclear weapons magazine.

A low-level aerial color photograph of the guided missile cruiser USS Belknap (CG-26) underway at sea.

A staged color photograph of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) near land taken from in front of the ship showing members of the crew in white uniforms standing evenly spaced out all along the perimeter of the flight deck and outside the bridge. Numerous aircraft are also arrayed on the flight deck.

50 yrs ago tonight, the guided missile cruiser USS Belknap (CG-26) collided with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)—both carrying nuclear weapons—when the Belknap turned into the Kennedy’s path in rough seas during night-flying exercises ~70 mi. east of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.

Copy of a formerly TOP SECRET, heavily-redacted, January 1, 1965, White House memorandum, probably drafted by White House military aide General Chester Clifton, describing the role of the White House military aide in assisting the president with the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP, the nuclear war plan) and the Presidential Emergency Action Documents (PEADs) and how the White House Communications Agency maintains communications systems allowing the president to connect almost instantly with the National Military Command Center to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. Crossed out at the bottom of the page is the following: “President Johnson has indicated that he does not like this system. He does not want to be followed so closely. The Secretary of Defense has been instructed to devise a system which will eliminate the need for an aide to be in constant attendance on him.” This is followed by, "I have examined this situation and would make the following recommendations.”

Continuation of the memorandum: “From the viewpoint of the President’s desires in regard to the bag containing the SIOP and the Presidential Emergency Action Documents, we have analyzed the present requirements and believe the following changes can be made.” Items one and two in a list of at least three items have been redacted. Item three reads, "The White House Communications Agency would be charged with the responsibility of maintaining communications wherever the President goes so that he could be reached [REDACTED]."

A color photograph of President Lyndon Johnson, wearing a dark overcoat and hat, boarding a small Air Force Lockheed VC-140B Jetstar (sometimes referred to as Air Force One Half due to its small size, with seats for just eight passengers and four crew) closely followed by a White House Military Office Marine Corps aide carrying the brown Presidential Emergency Satchel in his left hand (denoted with a red arrow).

President Johnson so disliked being “followed so closely” everywhere by a military aide with the “Football” that he directed Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to devise a system “which will eliminate the need for an aide to be in constant attendance on him.” nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/166...

That’s in part because Johnson ignored a November 27 recommendation by Air Force Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay to conduct a briefing on the US nuclear war plan and a command post exercise (to practice the process of authorizing the use of nuclear weapons) as soon as possible.

Copy of page one a formerly TOP SECRET untitled memorandum written by two of President Lyndon Johnson’s military aides describing the August 20, 1964, SIOP briefing given to President Johnson, which began at 6:15 PM, lasted about 15 minutes, and included all five members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The briefing discussed the “five decisions which the President must make, together with the advice he might expect from the Joint Chiefs for each decision,” the “implementations of the Joint Chiefs following these decisions,” and “consequences of SIOP execution in terms of human casualties.” President Johnson “seemed to be absorbed with the briefing throughout,” and “expressed particular interest in the number of casualties which would result from a nuclear exchange.” (Source: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/16697-document-16-untitled-memorandum-prepared.)

Copy of page two a formerly TOP SECRET untitled memorandum written by two of President Lyndon Johnson’s military aides describing how, after the briefing, Air Force Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay discussed “the major problem” encountered during practice execution of the SIOP, namely “the slowness in arriving at necessary decisions.” LeMay and JCS Chairman General Earle Wheeler both urged the president to participate in a SIOP execution drill to become more familiar with the process, which "they would be happy to conduct ... at any of the JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] relocation sites ...." "The conference was interrupted briefly when the President asked, 'How would you advise me if I were flying?' General Wheeler than explained that they would contact him by radio and intimated that you, or one of your assistants, would assist in the interpretation of the problem at hand." "All members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff seemed pleased with the results of the briefing. They felt it was well received and that the President's interest was generated in his SIOP responsibilities." (Source: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/16697-document-16-untitled-memorandum-prepared.)

Although Johnson was informed by military aide General Chester Clifton about the existence and purpose of the “Football” for the first time on November 29, and received a 20-30 minute briefing on December 9, he was not actually briefed on the Single Integrated Operational Plan until August 20, 1964.

A screenshot of the linked web page at CriitcalPast for the slient clip, "President Johnson approaches microphones and speaks at Andrews Air Force Base after death of President Kennedy."

Here is the short, archival film clip from which those rare images were obtained (see 0:20 to 0:25): www.criticalpast.com/video/656750...

A color screenshot from a film of President Lyndon Johnson's arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, showing a White House military aide carrying the brown leather Presidential Emergency Satchel (circled in red at lower left).

A color screenshot from a film of President Lyndon Johnson's arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, showing a White House military aide carrying the brown leather Presidential Emergency Satchel (circled in red at lower left) and talking with other military officials.

Tonight in 1963, the Presidential Emergency Satchel (“Football”) was caught on film at Andrews Air Force Base when newly-sworn-in President Lyndon B. Johnson returned from Dallas, Texas, on Air Force One after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (Johnson is in the crowd at center left).

Do you happen to have the date and location for this?

The red cover of Mick Broderick's book "Reconstructing Strangelove: Inside Stanley Kubrick's 'Nightmare Comedy.'" The title and author's name fill a little more than the top half of the cover in the same hand drawn script as was used for the title and credits in the film (with the title in white and the subtitle and author's name in black). The bottom of the cover reproduces a photograph of Kubrick directing the film, kneeling down so his eyes are level with the surface of part of the large table on the War Room set where General Buck Turgidson sits and looking intently at it. On the table, next to a glass ashtray, is a binder labeled "World Targets in Megadeaths" which is on top of another partially visible binder whose cover reads "TOP SECRET WAR ALERT ... BOOK."

who had access to director Stanley Kubrick’s production files while writing his 2017 book “Reconstructing Strangelove.” Broderick said that Kubrick appears to have been fully aware of European dubbing/subtitling work and apparently did not object to leaving “Dallas” in place for overseas audiences.