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Questions raised about Pakistan`s nuclear arms
Washington, Feb 20: After the revelations about Pakistan`s role in the nuclear black market, Islamabad is seen as primarily responsible for ending the arms trade but the United States is not pushing it to have its facilities inspected and cooperation is limited, US officials and experts say.
Washington, Feb 20: After the revelations about Pakistan's role in the nuclear black market, Islamabad is seen as primarily responsible for ending the arms trade but the United States is not pushing it to have its facilities inspected and cooperation is limited, US officials and experts say.
While most experts agree Washington should not press President
Pervez Musharraf, target of two assassination attempts, so hard that
he may be ousted, some are concerned that the Bush administration is
not demanding enough action from the Pakistani leader to combat the
nuclear threat.
''We do have interests in not putting the kind of pressure on Musharraf that would compromise his domestic position, but the leakage of nuclear material is transcendent,'' said Selig Harrison of the Center for International Policy.
The real danger is not just the scandal of disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan confessing to selling nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
More ominous is the possibility that nuclear material may fall into the hands of terrorist groups.
In what some analysts call a ''see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil'' approach, the administration has given Musharraf ''a pass'' by accepting his insistence that he and his government were not involved in Khan's network.
In the 1980s, Washington adopted a similar stance, ignoring Pakistan's nuclear weapons program because it needed Islamabad as an ally against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
US officials consider Musharraf a critical ally in the war on terrorism and the best leader for Pakistan at this time.
But Danielle Pletka of the American enterprise institute finds a contradiction in Pakistan claiming it has control of its nuclear arsenal while denying it knew about Khan. ''Those two statements don't jibe. One must be untrue,'' she said.
After the recent disclosures, Pakistan at a minimum must give the United States direct access to Khan, so it can unravel the nuclear network, and satisfy Washington that its nuclear weapons and technology are secure, she said. Bureau Report
''We do have interests in not putting the kind of pressure on Musharraf that would compromise his domestic position, but the leakage of nuclear material is transcendent,'' said Selig Harrison of the Center for International Policy.
The real danger is not just the scandal of disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan confessing to selling nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
More ominous is the possibility that nuclear material may fall into the hands of terrorist groups.
In what some analysts call a ''see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil'' approach, the administration has given Musharraf ''a pass'' by accepting his insistence that he and his government were not involved in Khan's network.
In the 1980s, Washington adopted a similar stance, ignoring Pakistan's nuclear weapons program because it needed Islamabad as an ally against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
US officials consider Musharraf a critical ally in the war on terrorism and the best leader for Pakistan at this time.
But Danielle Pletka of the American enterprise institute finds a contradiction in Pakistan claiming it has control of its nuclear arsenal while denying it knew about Khan. ''Those two statements don't jibe. One must be untrue,'' she said.
After the recent disclosures, Pakistan at a minimum must give the United States direct access to Khan, so it can unravel the nuclear network, and satisfy Washington that its nuclear weapons and technology are secure, she said. Bureau Report