Pakistan Strife Raises U.S. Doubts on Nuclear Arms

Simply put, this is the most dangerous situtation on the planet right now. The Taliban is moving closer to Islamabad and closer to the nuclear installations. I always felt that the U.S. would send in troops to secure the nukes if necessary but according to this unsettling article, we don't know where all of them are. Can you image these guys with a nuclear weopen? This is THE story of 2009, pay attention.-Lou


Pakistan Strife Raises U.S. Doubts on Nuclear Arms

New York Times, May 4, 2009

WASHINGTON — As the insurgency of the Taliban and Al Qaeda spreads in Pakistan, senior American officials say they are increasingly concerned about new vulnerabilities for Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, including the potential for militants to snatch a weapon in transport or to insert sympathizers into laboratories or fuel-production facilities.

The officials emphasized that there was no reason to believe that the arsenal, most of which is south of the capital, Islamabad, faced an imminent threat. President Obama said last week that he remained confident that keeping the country’s nuclear infrastructure secure was the top priority of Pakistan’s armed forces.

But the United States does not know where all of Pakistan’s nuclear sites are located, and its concerns have intensified in the last two weeks since the Taliban entered Buner, a district 60 miles from the capital. The spread of the insurgency has left American officials less willing to accept blanket assurances from Pakistan that the weapons are safe.

Pakistani officials have continued to deflect American requests for more details about the location and security of the country’s nuclear sites, the officials said.

Some of the Pakistani reluctance, they said, stemmed from longstanding concern that the United States might be tempted to seize or destroy Pakistan’s arsenal if the insurgency appeared about to engulf areas near Pakistan’s nuclear sites. But they said the most senior American and Pakistani officials had not yet engaged on the issue, a process that may begin this week, with President Asif Ali Zardari scheduled to visit Mr. Obama in Washington on Wednesday.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/world/asia/04nuke.html?_r=1&hp