Nuke-missile crews complain of stress

Nuke-missile crews complain of stress

WASHINGTON

Officers with a finger on the trigger of the Air Force’s most-powerful nuclear missiles are complaining of a wide array of morale-sapping pressures, according to internal emails obtained by The Associated Press.

The complaints shed fresh light on dissatisfactions roiling this critical arm of the Air Force, an undercurrent that has captured the attention of the service’s leaders.

Key themes among the complaints include working under “poor leadership” and being stuck in “dead-end careers” in nuclear weapons, one email said. The sentiments were expressed privately by members of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., in an unpublished study for the Air Force. The complaints also said there was a need for more-experienced missile officers, a less-arduous work schedule and “leaders who will listen.”

France, UK: Sarin used in Syrian war

PARIS

France said Tuesday it has confirmed that the nerve gas sarin was used “multiple times and in a localized way” in Syria, including at least once by the regime. It was the most-specific claim by any Western power about chemical weapons attacks in the 27-month-old conflict.

Britain later said that tests it conducted on samples taken from Syria also were positive for sarin.

The back-to-back announcements left many questions unanswered, highlighting the difficulties of confirming from a distance whether combatants in Syria have crossed the “red line” set by President Barack Obama.

Accused: I was protecting Taliban

FORT HOOD, Texas

An Army psychiatrist charged with gunning down Fort Hood soldiers said Tuesday his defense would show that he was compelled to do so because deploying U.S. troops posed an imminent danger to Taliban fighters.

The military judge asked Maj. Nidal Hasan if he has evidence to support his “defense of others” strategy, hinting that it could be thrown out.

Such a defense requires Hasan to prove the 2009 killings were necessary to protect others from immediate harm or death, and military-law experts not involved in the case said the judge is unlikely to allow him to present that defense.

Okla. tornado was widest on record

OKLAHOMA CITY

The deadly tornado that plowed through an area near Oklahoma City last week was even larger and more powerful than previously estimated — a record 2.6 miles wide with winds that reached nearly 300 mph, just shy of the strongest winds ever measured.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday announced that the twister was a top-of-the-scale EF5 twister — the second to strike the area in less than two weeks.

ITC bans imports of Apple’s iPhone 4

NEW YORK

A U.S. trade agency on Tuesday issued a ban on imports of Apple’s iPhone 4 and a variant of the iPad 2 after finding the devices violate a patent held by South Korean rival Samsung Electronics.

Because the devices are assembled in China, the import ban would end Apple’s ability to sell them in the U.S.

However, President Barack Obama has 60 days to invalidate Tuesday’s order from the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington. Obama is against import bans on the basis of the type of patent at issue in the Samsung case.

Associated Press