Pak does not trust US with its N-weapons

Society Military and Strategic Issues
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Pak does not trust US with its N-weapons

The Times of India, New Delhi, Nov. 05, 2001.
By Tony Allen-Mills

WASHINGTON: fears of fundamentalist upheaval in Pakistan have aroused concerns in Washington that part or all of Islamabad’s arsenal of nuclear weapons may have to be moved to China for safekeeping from foreign attack. The prospect that loose warheads might be loaded onto helicopters or moved around a region foaming with fundamentalist turmoil is adding to fears in Washington that the war in Afghanistan might provoke a nuclear crisis.

In a bid to defuse concern, US officials are understood to have offered Pakistan high-tech assistance to improve the security of missile vaults and the multiple-code custody arrangements that theoretically prevent rogue missile launches.

The issue was discussed by US secretary of state Colin Powell during his recent visit to Pakistan. A State Department official said last week Washington was “confident that Pakistan is taking steps to assure the safety of these (nuclear) assets”. But other American sources said Pakistan was reluctant to accept US technology for fear that it might be bugged by the CIA in order to establish the where- abouts of warheads.

The threat to weapons widely regarded as the Pakistan military’s “crown jewels” has forced Islamabad to consider what one American expert described as the “ultimate worst-case scenario” of removing warheads to China, Pakistan’s closest strategic ally.

China’s nuclear relations with Pakistan have long been the focus of controversy. Chinese
scientists are believed to have played a key role in developing Pakistan’s nuclear programme in the early 1980s. The two countries share a mistrust of India, which has also developed nuclear weapons.

In the 1990s relations between Beijing and Washington were strained when American officials discovered that China had supplied Pakistan with magnetic components used in enriching uranium, a material used in warheads. US experts believe that Pakistan possesses between 30 and 50 warheads. Islamabad has also developed facilities for making weapons-grade plutonium.

The precise locations of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are highly secret. Several US sources said last week that senior Pakistani officers had been forced to consider a range of scenarios, from thefts of weapon materials to US bombing raids on nuclear facilities. The arrest in Pakistan of three nuclear scientists with alleged Taliban sympathies heightened concern that bomb-making secrets may have leaked to Afghanistan.

But even under extreme duress, several US sources said, many elements of he Pakistani military would resi surrendering custody of their warheads to China.

The risks of any deal with China are obvious. China is certain to be deeply wary of being linked to fundamentalist conflict. Yet American experts believe that Beijing represents the only haven that Pakistan would dare to trust.
http://biiss.org/nuclear/Nov2001/51.htm

Old news but the point of this thread was that would you trust USA with Pakistans N-weapons?

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seems like bunch of hot -air

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[quote]
Originally posted by Bhadsha:
seems like bunch of hot -air
[/quote]

How?

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the fact that it is from Times of India for one thing

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[quote]
Originally posted by ArjunMahavir:
** How? **
[/quote]

Well for staters no sources are mentioned.... second...Why would Pakistan put its nukes in China...how will we have access to it....I doubt China would let Pak launch from its territory.... fourth... Even the commander in chief in pakistan doesn't know where each nuke is nor does he have the exact numbers.......fifth..the article is poster in times of india... Indian newspapers are lie quiet a bit, sensational news sells.....last point if a country is sophiticated enough to make the weapon then it knows how to protect it

[This message has been edited by Bhadsha (edited July 14, 2002).]

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Nice Indian bed time story....

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If anyone who has ever been near to KRL would know that they dont even let a bird flutter over there, let alone some fundo...

Even if by some miracle (and it would take some miracle) that the fundos are in control of Pakistans nuclear aresenal. How would they know which button to press? heh... let alone operate a guidance system to take these warheads and slam them into the US...

[This message has been edited by Spock (edited July 14, 2002).]

[This message has been edited by Spock (edited July 14, 2002).]

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Spock & others: the concerns are less to do with any assignment of war, electronics or missile guidance competence to Pakistani mullahs or even the extremists in establishments such as ISI and army. It's more to do with the dirty material that even mullahs can stuff into aerosol cans because they don't care about their thyroids in the 1st place.

[This message has been edited by ArjunMahavir (edited July 14, 2002).]

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ArjunMahavir, I think at this moment in time, people need to worry more about the Hindus walking around with bottles of paraffin!!

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arjun, since our nukes wont go as far as israel or the US, the mollahs might as well throw them in India…

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/wink.gif

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Well, Abdali(SLBM) missile is done and is ready to test, Pakistan was about to test the missile in late May 2002 but didn’t, cause of the international pressure.
Abdali(SLBM) has a range of 3500km and can strike Israel.

On the other hand, there is Shaheen 2 and its range has been increased to 3600km, so that one is also capable of hitting Israel.

Usman Khalil

[This message has been edited by usman_khalil (edited July 14, 2002).]

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I am less worried about mullahs throwing arms than their fiery rhetoric inflaming more Pakistani youth.

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[quote]
Originally posted by usman_khalil:
** Well, Abdali(SLBM) missile is done and is ready to test, Pakistan was about to test the missile in late May 2002 but didn't, cause of the international pressure.
Abdali(SLBM) has a range of 3500km and can strike Israel.

On the other hand, there is Shaheen 2 and its range has been increased to 3600km, so that one is also capable of hitting Israel.

Usman Khalil

[This message has been edited by usman_khalil (edited July 14, 2002).]**
[/quote]

if you mullahs can do that much how come they haven't found an effective cure to banging their own heads on hard surfaces?

others: here is proof of the mullah rhetoric that worries us all.

[This message has been edited by ArjunMahavir (edited July 14, 2002).]

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"The third missile tested over the weekend has a different range, effects and objectives. Hataf-V (Ghauri) was tested to fly up to 1500 kilometers. There was no direct mention from the government whether this was the maximum range of the missile. But the security officials put the original range of this missile to 3000 kilometers.

This range includes almost all of India, most of the Middle East including Israel, and many parts of Central Asia up to Moscow. "

Source:http://www.islamonline.net/english/News/2002-05/30/article07.shtml

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[quote]
Originally posted by ArjunMahavir:
** if you mullahs can do that much how come they haven't found an effective cure to banging their own heads on hard surfaces?

others: here is proof of the mullah rhetoric that worries us all.

[This message has been edited by ArjunMahavir (edited July 14, 2002).]**
[/quote]

What the hell are you talking about? I just proved that Pakistan is capable of hitting Israel. Do you think I want Pak N-weapons to be in the hands of Al-qaeda/Taliban? If thats what you think, you are definately wrong!

And stop with the name calling "mullah", its very annoying, I am not a mullah!lol

Also, tell me what the hell is wrong with proving that Pakistan is capable of hitting Israel?

BTW, are you a pakistani citizen?

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take a wild guess!

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[quote]
Originally posted by ArjunMahavir:
take a wild guess!
[/quote]

I dont need to take a wild guess, before I do that, please reply to my post.

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[quote]
Originally posted by usman_khalil:
** I dont need to take a wild guess, before I do that, please reply to my post.

**
[/quote]

just this once, I'll indulge and answer you. just this once. then shoo away.

I didn't accuse you of being a mullah. I recognized you as someone misguided by mullah rhetoric.

what's wrong with Pakistan trying to prove they can reach Israel? very simple: if Israel feels the slightest threat from Pakistan they'll simply bomb your facilities out of existence, like in iraq. so all this boasting about 1000's of kilometers is quite banal.

and finally, stop war mongering. why do you want to poison yet another generation of your own children and make another palestine their inheritance?

India and Pakistan need to stop the dangers of religious extremism at all costs.

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Perhapes our alice in wonderland friend should dig out the history, ISrael did try to destroy our facilities but Pak is not Iraq.. Sorry to burst your bubble.

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/tongue.gif

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you must be Mush! you do exactly what I tell you to do all the time wailing like a banshee that you won’t!