From the October 2007 Idaho Observer:

TOPOFF, loose nukes, Iran, neocons and mutiny

At press time, Operation TOPOFF 4 is being conducted—a nationwide exercise in which four nuclear "dirty bombs" are detonated in the U.S. and disaster preparedness plans are put in motion so the various local, state and federal emergency personnel can practice for the real thing.

A similar exercise was conducted in 2005. Whatever lessons were learned from that expensive, nationwide disaster simulation has not been made available to Congress or the public.

Suspicions about Bush White House intentions abound as TOPOFF 4 winds down. For one, numerous preparedness drills were running on 9/11 and the stage appears to be set for the next 9/11. Adding to the concern is the "loose nukes" controversy from August 30, 2007 when six live nuclear warheads were flown from Minot AFB in North Dakota to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana—in violation of strict, top-security protocols regarding the handling and transport of nuclear weapons.

Where the Bush administration contends that the loose nukes fiasco was the result of a comedy of errors, the same excuse it uses to explain the events of 9/11, many qualified individuals argue that live warheads do not move without orders from senior officials at the White House—namely President Bush or vice-President Cheney.

According to intelligence insider Wayne Madsen, the orders to transport the nukes were likely issued per protocol—and then disobeyed. A number of Air Force personnel refused to allow the nuclear armed B-52 to fly in a covert mission to Iran outside the normal chain of military command.

"Command and control breakdowns involving U.S. nuclear weapons are unprecedented, except for the fact that the U.S. military is now waging an internal war against neocons who are embedded in the U.S. government and military chain of command who are intent on using nuclear weapons in a pre-emptive war with Iran," Madsen explained.

International politics commentator Michael Salla observed that, "Madsen is alluding here to the most plausible explanation for the source of orders leading to the B-52 incident. The orders emanated from the office of the vice-president and, in particular, Dick Cheney himself. Cheney’s orders were opposed all the way up the Department of Defense hierarchy including Admiral William Fallon, Commander of Central Command, and Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. This is supported by a recent report in the Telegraph newspaper that Gates has become the chief opponent to Dick Cheney’s plans to commit the U.S. to another war against Iran and is encouraging military officers to be more candid in their assessments of a new conflict."

If true, the world was spared the detonation of nuclear weapons in Iran because people within the defense establishment have broken ranks with the Bush administration. In simple terms, this is called a "mutiny."

There are many other indications that military regulars and brass are opposed to the direction neocon-dominated civilians in government are taking the war effort. That means the Bush administration, which has an approval rating is now below 30 percent and still falling, is becoming desperate.

It has been rumored that up to six airmen involved in the loose nukes controversy have since died curious deaths. It is also rumored that, of the six nuclear warheads that landed at Barksdale, only five have been accounted for.

If either one or both of those rumors are true, then the stakes are high enough to warrant the mysterious murders of military personnel and a live nuclear warhead is still at large and probably in the wrong hands.