10nfl1-Nukes-Cover
PAKISTAN IS A MAJOR SECURITY CONCERN-THE NEW COMMAND
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| PAKISTAN IS A MAJOR SECURITY CONCERN-THE NEW COMMAND SYSTEM, TERRORIST PRESENCE, AND UNCLEAR REGULATIONS MEANS TERRORISTS CAN GET A HOLD OF VALUABLE INFORMATION. Michael A. Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment and Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change, Deterring State Sponsorship of Nuclear Terrorism published by the Council on Foreign Relations 2008, pg. 4 More likely routes for terrorists to buy or be given a nuclear weapon involve corruption among nuclear custodians, black markets, or a coup that brings to power officials sympathetic to terrorist causes. In these respects, Pakistan stands out as a vexing security concern. First, it has a relatively new nuclear command and control system. Second, al-Qaeda and Taliban forces have established a formidable presence in the region. Third, some elements of Pakistanʼs Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI) agency sympathize with the Taliban, although the extent to which the ISI has access to Pakistanʼs nuclear arsenal is unclear. Fourth, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has twice been the target of assassination attempts. Fifth, the most infamous nuclear black market originated in Pakistan. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani metallurgist and the so- called father of Pakistanʼs nuclear weapons program, ran a nuclear distribution network that sprawled across Europe, Africa, and Asia and supplied nuclear programs in Iran, Libya, and North Korea. Although no evidence has emerged that Khans network sold nuclear materials or weapons to terrorists, his network did sell blueprints fora nuclear bomb to Libya. Conceivably, terrorists or criminals may have obtained or eventually could obtain this information. The Khan network also demonstrates that the Pakistani nuclear establishment is vulnerable to an insider threat. 10NFL1-Nuclear Weapons Page 83 of 199 www.victorybriefs.com Download 1.23 Mb. Share with your friends:
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