LA disks not missing after all.

[Guest guest]

Of course the rest of the country is still in fear that our secrets are being

handed out to terrorists or something.

in fact....not.

 

but do they tell anyone on the national news? of course not....that would end

the fear!

 

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http://www.thenewmexicochannel.com/news/3640748/detail.html

 

Los Alamos Disks May Not Have Been Missing

 

Senator: Los Alamos Inventory System 'A Mess'

 

POSTED: 7:36 pm MDT August 10, 2004

UPDATED: 2:42 pm MDT August 11, 2004

 

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. -- New questions are being posed about a high level

investigation into missing disks from Los Alamos National Lab that had

classified information on them.

 

 

As the lab continues its shutdown of all classified work, new Mexico's senior

senator has raised the prospect that the disks may not have been missing at

all.

 

 

Lab Security

 

 

Sen. Pete Domenici was briefed by Lab Director Pete Nanos on Monday.

Domenici issued a statement Tuesday saying the missing disks could be

nothing more than an inventory goof.

 

" It may be that what we have here is a false positive, " he said. " The system

says something is missing when it is not. "

 

The senator hinted at the possibility that the missing disks were a filing

error.

 

If that were the case, certainly some among the classified community would

breathe easier, but Domenici said it's no excuse for the alarm it caused.

 

" Whether or not the disks were missing, Los Alamos' system of tracking its

classified inventory is clearly a mess, " Domenici said. Jay Coghlan of Nuclear

Watch New Mexico agrees.

 

" Supposedly brilliant people can be so inept, " Coghlan said.

 

He said inattention to detail and lax management are to blame.

 

" UC essentially let the laboratory run itself, " he said.

 

Now, Coghlan said, the lab has nearly run its reputation into the ground. He

willingly admits a mislabeling of classified material would be better than an

outright loss.

 

" That would be less a grave security concern than it being flat-out missing, " he

said.

 

The big question is whether the mislabeling fiasco has already done the

damage to the lab's reputation.

 

The bid process has been opened up and the Department of Energy shut

down all classified work Los Alamos.

 

Both Los Alamos and the Department of Energy said they won't comment on

the investigation until it's complete.

 

*************************************

 

Also on NPR

 

 

 

 

Classified Los Alamos Data May Not Be Missing

 

Morning Edition audio

 

Aug. 11, 2004

Two classified computer zip disks may not be missing after all from the Los

Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Reports of their disappearance

brought operations at the facility to a standstill. Sources say investigators

now

suspect the disks never existed in the first place. NPR's David Kestenbaum

reports.