[Thus far the Bush administration has managed to attack the wrong targets in its “war on terror.” When it might have caught up with bin Laden in Afghanistan, it diverted it energies to Iraq, leaving both countries now in chaos with populations favoring American departure ASAP. Now its apparent target of another possible attack is Iran, whereas the nation already possessing both nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver them is Pakistan. I know from asking my students that most Americans do not have a very clear sense of what lies where over there. A quick map search will disclose that as the crow flies from west to east from the Mediterranean, we find lined up Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan.
It is pretty clear that the Cheney/Rumsfeld war plan has stuck the U.S. with two wings of a bird (Iraq and Afghanistan) whose central body is Iran — Iran also controls the sea routes into Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, i.e. a major portion of the world’s OIL supply. It would not be hard for Iran to block the narrow Strait of Hormuz passageway past its coast — the only oil and military exit route from all of the above. No wonder there is a more than slight panic as Iran demonstrates its possibilities with an arrest of 15 British sailors coinciding with the weak sanctions against it voted by the Security Council yesterday.
BUT — a far greater hazard lies in this particular picture than an Iran with nuclear weapons capacity sometime down the line. It is Pakistan with its existing weaponry and a frail government being run by an ever less popular general. The Taliban is hanging out in Pakistan and striking more or less freely at our beleaguered troops in Afghanistan. Dr. Khan, the Pakistani nuclear scientist who has supplied the bomb knowhow to countries ranging from North Korea to Libya with Iran stage center, lives happily on with the likelihood of doing more ‘Walmart’ distribution of the same as needed if General/President Musharraf is removed:
http://www.acronym.org.uk/dd/dd76/76cc.htm
Frankly, I would not want to be the wounded U.S. President manning the eroding barricades at the White House. Will he get it wrong yet again? Probably. Ed Kent]
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Musharraf Finds Himself Weakened After Firing of Judge
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Protests over the firing of Pakistan’s highest-ranking
judge signal the most serious challenge that Gen. Pervez
Musharraf has faced.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/world/asia/25pakistan.html?th&emc=th
OP-ED COLUMNIST
The General and the Housewife
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is facing the most
serious crisis of his presidency.
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/opinion/25kristof.html?th&emc=th
(Available only to TimesSelect subscribers)
…………………………..
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“A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope.” (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
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Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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4 users commented in " Pakistan Is the Real Nuclear Threat! "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackIs Intresting comments but in my openion the more danger allies with USA who so for proven to use Necular bomb and spoil the countries in to desserots.The best thing is live in peice and leave the rest to live in Peice.Dont b a master Just look after yr country and nation and lets do the same to others.
Hello Ed,
I am disappointed to read your comments. A more logical line of argument would be that nuclear weapons anywhere are a threat to world peace. To single out Pakistan is naive at best. Have you ever been to Pakistan? Do you follow their politics from their newspapers? Do you know their history? I wonder if you know that Pakistan has lost more troops in the war on terror than any other country except the US. That includes our friends from UK and other countries.
Pakistan does not control the situation inside Afghanistan. Despite our best efforts, Karzai government controls barely an area around Kabul. There are peace agreements between Karzai government and the warlords, who control most of Afghanistan. Has it ever made sense to you that we ask Pakistan to control the border, while coalition forces that are in Afghanistan have been unable to do the same. Talibans inside Afghanistan are gaining ground again since we have been unable to bring peace to Afghanistan after six years.
You may also not know that we have blacklisted Indian Scientists for supplying nuclear information to Iran? They have also supplied information to Libya as well. Do you trust the piles of weapons that are lying around in the former Soviet states. Do you trust Israel with the nuclear weapons with all the instability in that area?
Uninformed comments like yours spread misinformation. I do not know what is the motive behind it but a little more depth and insight is needed.
Best regards,
Usman.
ps: If General Musharraf leaves then another moderate will take over the reigns. Right wing parties typically have about 5% support in Pakistan so there is no real threat of them taking over. It would be good for Pakistan if Musharraf leaves and that we stop supporting disctators in Pakistan for short term gains.
i think we should use pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the top five islamic nations - like pakistan, iran, saudi arabia and possibly syria and turkey. these countries will be a threat to us and the west - all of them are already threat ti israell.
if we can target there capitals and nuclear plants etc - casualties may be in region of 3-4million max but we willn be safe for 30-40 years.
Hi,
Out of 100% of the terrorism attacks on the world, 90% of them originate directly or indirectly from Pakistan, Either pakistanis or Pakistani origin people are involved in all of these attacks…..
What does this mean….?
It would be totally insane to trust pakistan. Not only that Its responsible to give us N. Korea and Libiya….Isnt that enough to endangeor world’s security….? Moreover, Its has world’s best rough sceintiest…….
Pakistan is the world’s greatest threat today.
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