11-10-2009, 01:19 AM
<b>US working to secure Pak nukes: Pulitzer winner
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Leading US investigative journalist and Pulitzer prize winner Seymour Hersh has created a stir by stating that Washington is working on a clandestine programme to secure Pakistan's nuclear installations.
Pakistan has reacted angrily to the assertion made by Hersh in the latest issue of `The New Yorker'. The widely respected journalist is known for having sources in most wings of the US establishment, including Pentagon from where he claims to have acquired the lead on Pakistan's nuclear assets.
The information may not be easy to dismiss as Hersh points to the fear that extremists in Pakistan's military establishment - even apart from the threat of a Taliban takeover - might grab control of some of the nuclear facilities in the country. He states in his article that Washington has been "negotiating highly sensitive understandings with the Pakistani military'' to prevent such a scenario.
"These would allow specially trained American units to provide added security for the Pakistani arsenal in case of a crisis. At the same time, the Pakistani military would be given money to equip and train Pakistani soldiers and to improve their housing and facilities - goals that General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistan Army chief, has long desired,'' he states, adding that the secrecy surrounding the understanding was because of growing antipathy for the US in Pakistan.
The suggestion that the Pakistan army leadership might be ready to go along with the US plan for providing added protection is bound to be politically sensitive in Pakistan and is likely to draw strong denials from both the government and the military set-up. The "understanding" is not as improbable as it may sound as the Pakistan army brass would be aware of a strong current of support for the Taliban in its ranks.
India clearly shares the concern over the nuclear arsenal as foreign secretary Nirupama Rao on October 22 had expressed the hope that Pakistan's atomic weapons were safe while reacting to a question on reports that one such nuclear installation at Kamra had been attacked by terrorists.
Hersh goes on to state that the ongoing consultation on nuclear security between Washington and Islamabad intensified after the announcement in March of President Obama's "so-called Af-Pak policy'' which called upon the Pakistan Army to take more aggressive action against Taliban enclaves inside Pakistan. "I was told that the understandings on nuclear cooperation benefitted from the increasingly close relationship between Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Kayani, his counterpart, although the CIA and the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy have also been involved,'' he added.
A Pakistan official close to President Asif Zardari with whom Hersh spoke is said to have reacted angrily to the US interest in Pakistan's arsenal saying that even if there was a military coup, nobody would give up the control on nuclear weapons. This official, according to Hersh, wondered why the US was not worried about India's arsenal.
"Because India is your friend, and the longtime policies of America and India converge. Between you and the Indians, you will `f...' us in every way. The truth is that our weapons are less of a problem for the Obama Administration than finding a respectable way out of Afghanistan,'' the official said.
Pakistan on Monday dismissed the report saying that it was "nothing more than a concoction to tarnish the image of Pakistan and create misgivings among its people''.
"Pakistan does not require any foreign assistance in this regard. Nor will Pakistan, as a sovereign state, ever allow any country to have direct or indirect access to its nuclear and strategic facilities. Any suggestion to this effect is simply preposterous,'' said Pakistan's foreign ministry.
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Leading US investigative journalist and Pulitzer prize winner Seymour Hersh has created a stir by stating that Washington is working on a clandestine programme to secure Pakistan's nuclear installations.
Pakistan has reacted angrily to the assertion made by Hersh in the latest issue of `The New Yorker'. The widely respected journalist is known for having sources in most wings of the US establishment, including Pentagon from where he claims to have acquired the lead on Pakistan's nuclear assets.
The information may not be easy to dismiss as Hersh points to the fear that extremists in Pakistan's military establishment - even apart from the threat of a Taliban takeover - might grab control of some of the nuclear facilities in the country. He states in his article that Washington has been "negotiating highly sensitive understandings with the Pakistani military'' to prevent such a scenario.
"These would allow specially trained American units to provide added security for the Pakistani arsenal in case of a crisis. At the same time, the Pakistani military would be given money to equip and train Pakistani soldiers and to improve their housing and facilities - goals that General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistan Army chief, has long desired,'' he states, adding that the secrecy surrounding the understanding was because of growing antipathy for the US in Pakistan.
The suggestion that the Pakistan army leadership might be ready to go along with the US plan for providing added protection is bound to be politically sensitive in Pakistan and is likely to draw strong denials from both the government and the military set-up. The "understanding" is not as improbable as it may sound as the Pakistan army brass would be aware of a strong current of support for the Taliban in its ranks.
India clearly shares the concern over the nuclear arsenal as foreign secretary Nirupama Rao on October 22 had expressed the hope that Pakistan's atomic weapons were safe while reacting to a question on reports that one such nuclear installation at Kamra had been attacked by terrorists.
Hersh goes on to state that the ongoing consultation on nuclear security between Washington and Islamabad intensified after the announcement in March of President Obama's "so-called Af-Pak policy'' which called upon the Pakistan Army to take more aggressive action against Taliban enclaves inside Pakistan. "I was told that the understandings on nuclear cooperation benefitted from the increasingly close relationship between Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Kayani, his counterpart, although the CIA and the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy have also been involved,'' he added.
A Pakistan official close to President Asif Zardari with whom Hersh spoke is said to have reacted angrily to the US interest in Pakistan's arsenal saying that even if there was a military coup, nobody would give up the control on nuclear weapons. This official, according to Hersh, wondered why the US was not worried about India's arsenal.
"Because India is your friend, and the longtime policies of America and India converge. Between you and the Indians, you will `f...' us in every way. The truth is that our weapons are less of a problem for the Obama Administration than finding a respectable way out of Afghanistan,'' the official said.
Pakistan on Monday dismissed the report saying that it was "nothing more than a concoction to tarnish the image of Pakistan and create misgivings among its people''.
"Pakistan does not require any foreign assistance in this regard. Nor will Pakistan, as a sovereign state, ever allow any country to have direct or indirect access to its nuclear and strategic facilities. Any suggestion to this effect is simply preposterous,'' said Pakistan's foreign ministry.