Nuclear Missiles Go Offline after Computer Error

A series of computer errors at an Air Force base in Wyoming Saturday took 50 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles -- one-ninth of the U.S. missile stockpile -- offline for about an hour, CBS News chief political consultant Marc Ambinder reports.

Engineers believe that the outage at F.E. Warren Air Force Base was caused by a hardware failure in a launch control computer rather than a power failure as had been previously reported, according to a defense official with knowledge of the situation.

Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was immediately briefed about the incident Saturday. He in turn told Defense Secretary Robert Gates. President Obama was briefed Tuesday morning.

According to an administration official, at no time did the president's ability to launch missiles decrease should that have been necessary.

A military official said that the failure triggered an emergency protocol and sentries were dispatched to verify in person that all of the missiles were safe and properly protected.

The military does not believe the incident was sabotage.


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