To the editor:

In the news this last week there was reporting about several highly secretive computer viruses that have been created by computer experts from unknown countries. Two of these viruses are known as “Flame” and “Stuxnet.” The countries are suspected to be Israel and the U.S. These viruses have been used as espionage tools and actual destructive weapons against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Information about these viruses can be “googled” if you are interested.

If computer experts can spy and actually cause damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities from thousands of miles away, is it just a question of time until some computer “nerd,” somewhere in the world, invades one of our nuclear facilities? It just so happens that the closest nuclear facility to Whidbey Island is only about 10 miles away at the Indian Island Weapons Depot just southwest of Port Townsend. Nuclear warheads are stored there to be placed on the Trident submarines stationed at Bangor. These weapons of mass destruction are carried around the world on our subs “to protect our freedom.” Every once in a while these Trident subs can be seen from Ebey’s Landing on their ominous journey out to sea.

So my concern is that the U.S. nuclear facilities at Indian Island might someday be at risk, just the same as the Iranian nuclear facilities that were damaged a year or two ago by computers. Wouldn’t it be prudent to ask the Navy to relocate their storage depot somewhere else away from this heavily populated Puget Sound area? How about somewhere in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska?

Think I’m an alarmist? Don’t forget we were asleep before, both at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the Twin Towers in 2001! I have had some professional background on this subject; as a graduate engineer, I had top secret clearance working with nuclear warheads in the 1960s.

Help me to make inquires to our senators and representatives for our children’s and grandchildren’s sake.

Bill Rowlands

Clinton