Implosion at Los Alamos

Wednesday, 25 August 2010 08:44

Implosion at Los Alamos

Written by Craig Cohen

Ever since scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) developed the world's first atomic bomb in 1945, the University of California oversaw the lab's operation. That was 61 years without competition. Dr. Walp argues in his book that over the course of those six decades, military-like security at the lab had degenerated into a "lackadaisical, cavalier nonchalance." That attitude ultimately led some managers and employees to steal or misappropriate millions of dollars in taxpayer money and government goods.

Several high profile security lapses and the bungled investigation of the Wen Ho Lee case led the University of California to hire Col. Walp in 2002 to head the Office of Security Inquiries. "We were dedicated to helping preserve the United States' nuclear weapons stockpikle, a stash vital to the protection of all Americans, especially in these times of rogue nations and fanatical terrorists," Walp writes. But in short order he uncovered corruption, thievery and cover-ups and feared that even more sinister crimes could be perpetrated from within the confines of Los Alamos. As he and colleagues attempted to expose and correct what they had uncovered, they encountered stiff opposition from management.

After blowing the whistle on the widespread corruption, the lab fired Walp and his team in 2003. Eventually they were rehired by the University of California as consultants amidst a media brouhaha that led to Congressional inquiries and the first competitive bidding for the lab operations and management in three generations. He also won a nearly $1 million taxpayer-funded settlement against the U of C.

What motivated Walp to write this book, he says, is the fear that Americans are not taking seriously the profound threat posed by terrorists who want weapons of mass destruction and who would steal our nuclear secrets to achieve their deadly aims. "Unbelievably and alarmingly, the Los Alamos National Laboratory has had security failures nearly every year between 1999 and 2009. Based on these proven security failures concerning classified information including lost/stolen computers, files, flashcards, disks, thumb drives and hard drives ... nuclear weapons secrets that may now be in the hands of Iran, North Korea, terroristic entities, and perhaps others, could possibly have been stolen from the Los Alamos National Laboratory," he alleges.

Walp writes in the book's prologue, "I have multiple aspirations. These include that the new leaders and management of the Los Alamos National Laboratory become wise stewards of America's secrets, that they will be standard-bearers for honesty based on principles of managerial ethics, and that they make their main concern ironclad protection of our national secrets."

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Published in Smart Talk