« The Global Proliferation Map | Blog Home Page | Obama's Iraq Straddle »
February 27, 2009Pakistan's Nukes Secure?
With Pakistan's political instability spreading, nervous concern has mounted over the fate of Islamabad's nuclear arsenal should Taliban sympathizers gain power within the Pakistan military, but under the terms of secret agreements, U.S. personnel have been stationed in Pakistan whose sole function is to guarantee and secure the safety of Islamabad's nuclear arsenal and keep it out of the hands of terrorists, according to several serving and former U.S. officials.Some of the American technicians have had direct access to the nuclear weapons themselves, these sources said.
In any case, Pakistan's nukes are currently secure, in the opinion of several former and serving U.S. officials. "They are for now," said one.
This is reassuring, as far as it goes. But it sure would be nice if the nukes were secure because the state of Pakistan was secure.
ShareSign up | Sign in