Area 51_ An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base - Annie Jacobsen [243]
37. W61 Earth Penetrator: Leland Johnson, “Sandia Report: Tonopah Test Range Outpost of Sandia National Laboratories, SAND96-0375, UC-700,” March 1996, 80.
38. launch the earth-penetrator weapon: Nelson, “Low-Yield Earth-Penetrating Nuclear Weapons,” 3, figure 3.
39. and signed by five of the then seven or eight nuclear-capable countries: Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (http://www.ctbto.org/). The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was signed by the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia on September 26, 1996, in New York. The nuclear-armed states who did not sign (and as of 2011 have not signed) are India, Israel, and Pakistan. According to CTBTO, Israel has not reported testing but is generally assumed to be a nuclear-armed state. In 2006, Korea announced that it had conducted a nuclear test. Notably, the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, to which I also refer, prohibits nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater but allowed for underground nuclear tests. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty of 1996 prohibits all nuclear explosions, including those conducted underground.
40. Rods from God: Eric Adams, “Rods from God,” Popular Science, June 1, 2004.
41. “that’s enough force”: Interview with Barnes.
42. “long-rod penetration”: Nelson, “Low-Yield Earth-Penetrating Nuclear Weapons,” 4.
43. April 1999 report: JSR-97-155, “Characterization of Underground Facilities.” JASON, MITRE Corporation, McLean, Virginia.
44. Los Alamos fired back: Interview with Stephen Younger.
45. operations at the Nevada Test Site: “NSTec Contracted to Operate NNSA Test Site,” United Press International, December 22, 2008. Interview with Stephen Younger.
46. In 2006, the Senate dropped the line item: CRS Report for Congress, “Bunker Busters”: Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator Issues, FY2005-FY2007; Domenici: RNEP Funds Dropped from Appropriations Bill,” press release, Senator Pete Domenici, October 25, 2005, FY2006 hearings. From the transcript: Representative Terry Everett: “Could you please tell me directly if there’s a military need for this, for robust earth–nuclear earth penetrator?” Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: “It is a question that’s difficult to answer, because sometimes they say ‘military requirement.’ And that’s a formal process. There was no military requirement for unmanned aerial vehicles until they came along.”
47. proposed to revive the NERVA program: Michael R. Williams, “Ground Test Facility for Propulsion and Power Modes of Nuclear Engine Operation,” Savannah River National Laboratory, Department of Energy, WSRC-MS-2004-00842.
48. six hundred million pages of information: Pauline Jelinek, “U.S. Releases Nazi Papers,” Associated Press, November 2, 1999.
49. Many documents about Area 51 exist in that pile: Interviews with EG&G engineer.
50. the Roswell crash remains: which certainly explains why the CIA and the Air Force have not been able to locate Roswell crash remains in their archives.
51. the most powerful defense contractor in the nation: In 1999, EG&G was acquired by the Carlyle Group. In 2002 it was acquired by URS. In 2000, EG&G formed a joint venture with Raytheon to create JT3 (Joint Test, Tactics, and Training) LLC, which provides “engineering and technical support for the Nevada Test and Training Range, the Air Force Flight Test Center, the Utah Test and Training Range, and the Electronic Combat Range.” Interview with Meagan Stafford, EG&G/URS Public Relations, Sard Verbinnen & Co., July 16, 2010.
52. former dean of engineering at MIT: Vannevar Bush papers located at National Security Archives, Truman Library, the Roosevelt Library, and MIT Archives; Zachary, Endless Frontier, Library of Congress, “Vannevar Bush, a Collection of His Papers in the Library of Congress,” Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.