Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Good News: Pakistan rapidily adding more nukes

Just a couple of weeks ago, Pakistan President Zardari stated that Pakistan is not ading to their nuclear arsenal. But at a congressional hearing last week, Admiral Mullen confirmed that Pakistan is indeed expanding their nuke stockpile.

There's nothing to worry about though because the US has a plan to secure Pakistani nukes in case the country falls to the taliban. Only problem is we don't know where all the nukes are. New York Times

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have been told in confidential briefings that Pakistan is rapidly adding to its nuclear arsenal even while racked by insurgency, raising questions on Capitol Hill about whether billions of dollars in proposed military aid might be diverted to Pakistan’s nuclear program.

Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed the assessment of the expanded arsenal in a one-word answer to a question on Thursday in the midst of lengthy Senate testimony. Sitting beside Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, he was asked whether he had seen evidence of an increase in the size of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal.

“Yes,” he said quickly, adding nothing, clearly cognizant of Pakistan’s sensitivity to any discussion about the country’s nuclear strategy or security.

Inside the Obama administration, some officials say, Pakistan’s drive to spend heavily on new nuclear arms has been a source of growing concern, because the country is producing more nuclear material at a time when Washington is increasingly focused on trying to assure the security of an arsenal of 80 to 100 weapons so that they will never fall into the hands of Islamic insurgents.

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