It's good to hear that the military intuition is stable in Pakistan.
Yet where is the skepticism anymore in the media? US officials are concerned if Musharraf is overthrown or becomes too weak? This same man overthrew a democratic government in a junta! Is a sign of weakness for him to allow elections to take place again? What is weakness in the thinking of a WH that is pushing its own agenda of an unchecked executive?
The Bush 43 administration is the same one that has been underfunding and neglecting the Cooperative Threat Reduction program while building a new generation of nuclear bunker busters and dropping out of the ABM treaty.
And now they want to use the threat of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of unknown terrorists in order to justify bolstering the continued dictatorship of a purported US ally?

Sent by Mitchell Hough | 7:20 PM ET | 11-09-2007

Now the world realises the need India has for nuclear weapons or does it not ?
Not only do you have china on your norther border you have Pakistan on your western border?

The world must see the difference between Pakistan, which is a failed stated and responsible India.

Sent by Jason Smith | 11:21 PM ET | 11-09-2007

Nukes in the hands of the militants, is also the worry of most of the educated people in Pakistan that have decided to stay low during this turmoil. A military leader is needed for Pakistan to maintain its stability with Taleban and Al-Qaeda amidst them, they have no choice but to support the somewhat power hungry but patriotic General. The West needs to stop focusing on Benazir as she has looted the country and did NOTHING for anyone but herself and her cronies. The plight of women was IGNORED during her era so why is the West imposing her on the Pakistanis who do not want her? Support at the grass-root level she got, was a facade. You can buy and create a protest or a procession in Pakistan. She spent $8 million dollars on her welcome...
What Pakistan needs is an immediate action on the militants while this emergency is in force. This is the chance Mushy must avail. If he annihilates the militants, the West will forget that he curtailed rights and freedoms and suspended the constitution.

Sent by Anila Ali | 11:34 PM ET | 11-09-2007

It might sound impractical but the solution to this concern lies in taking the nuke heads out of Pakistan, with or without the permission of Pakistan.Imagine this.The so called pro western general in charge of Nukes either gets killed or gets abducted and the abductors gain control (insiders) & hand over the nukes to the extremists who use them against US interests.What will US do then? It would be too late to rescue the General controlling Nukes and we watch another disaster helplessly.Mush will agree to let US take out the Nukes if the whole deal is kept a secret and the real nuke heads are replaced with the fake one to hide the deal, if Mush is allowed to keep the uniform and the President ship.And of course some "cookies" for retirement.

Sent by Anil Shah | 11:42 PM ET | 11-09-2007

When will NPR and assorted bloggers stop taking its readers to be uninformed jello? Pakistan and North Korea don't even make a decent automobile -- but somehow, you expect us to believe that they can make nuclear weapons and missiles? It is all Chinese supplied stuff and you jokers are too lame to call it like it is.

Sent by Alok Niranjan | 7:27 AM ET | 11-10-2007

The same thory apply to the permenent members of UNO, plus israiel, india germany etc. China and russia is doing openly? see the case of Iran/Otrhers are also looking for the favour.

Sent by K.j,Kirmani | 8:34 AM ET | 11-10-2007

Arms proliferaton-- wether conventional
or nuclear-- are done to make money.
Since they are a wasting assests,there
only use is Political.The solution
is political.Democracy is the only
solution for Pakistan ,America should not support generals and choreograf
the situation in Pakistan.Let the people
decide.

Sent by jawaid chaudhri | 12:53 PM ET | 11-10-2007

THE threat of unstable, stolen or sold nuclear material from Pakistan
is not the only fear of the United States. NEW mathematical informational data link to atomic elements that literally elevate the
mass, power,propulsion, rocket speed, atomic weight,missle range and nuclear
fuel to extreme levels is un-regulated
by any Government.Having this form
of atomic informational data open for good or bad is a greater concern than the Pakistan nuclear
issue.AT least they have some regulations.

Sent by jerry a. Myers | 2:22 AM ET | 11-11-2007

I think it is the media hype that is making Pakistan in the headlines. Emergencies and president rule are very common in that part of the world. It happens in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and in Sri-Lanka on a regular basis. As far as I know, banks, schools, businesses, are all open and there is traffic more than before on the road!!. People are following cricket and enjoying their lives. Pakistan has no better choice than to have Musharraf to guard this weak democracy and the nuclear installations. It's in the best interest of Pakistan not have leaders like Bhutto, Nawaz and Altaf. Their corrupt past shows that their leadership will lead Pakistan into a failed nation. The instability that we now see in Pakistan is because of Benazirs entry into Politics with her stolen $4 million spent for her Karachi show, that took more than 200 innocent lives. Let's give a chance to Pakistanis to find a solution to all these corrupt leaders, who can lead the country in a true democratic way, rather than being dictated by others. In my opinion a stable Pakistan is in the interest of India, and all the big powers that are concerned about the political instability in that nuclear Muslim nation.

Sent by anser azim | 2:40 PM ET | 11-12-2007

India and Pakistan have long been nuclear states that Americans have long ignored.

An interesting question is the existence of the neutron bomb that has reputedly been used during the Kashmir War. Both India and Pakistan have substantion armored divisions, with nuclear protective armor, facing one another. The neutron, or neutrino bomb, penetrates nuclear protective armor to kill the tank crew, while leaving the tank engine running.

Sam Cohen is the recognized inventor of the neutron bomb. Cohen was a member of the Manhattan Project that created the first atomic bomb. President Reagan reputedly signed 'black box' funding for Sam Cohen to further research neutron weapon's technology.

The neutron bomb is the nuclear weapon of the future, science fiction come true. It theoretically will molecularly kill on a biological level, without destroying the infrastructure of a city. A one kiloton neutron bomb theoretically has the killing capacity of a ten kiloton conventional nuclear bomb, without knocking down the buildings.

Which is a significant reason why every government denies the neutron weapon's technology's existence.

It has been suggested that South Africa and Israel have the neutron bomb, along with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: America, France, Great Britain, China and Russia. Who are also the five largest world arms distributors.

Secret reports have indicated that neutron war technology has at least been experimented with in the armored coflict between India and Pakistan in the Kashmir War.

fred call

Sent by fred call | 12:12 PM ET | 11-14-2007

What's the big fus over nuetron bombs...
All i can say is that the chinese are responsible for hell lot of things........
they have given nuke tech to pakistan..
the stupid reason was to have hand over india.......
why do not these jihadis go to china and bomb some buildings over there...
U.S should just remove those nukes from pak for everyones safety...........

Sent by john | 2:45 PM ET | 11-23-2007

Sent by john: What's the big fus over nuetron bombs...

Theoretically, neutron bomb technology could eliminate the mutual nuclear deterence option.

First, neutron bomb technology does not, theoretically, create a thousand years of a nuclear winter. Ergo, troops can move into an area relatively soon after a neutron bomb detonation.

Second, neutron bomb technology does not destroy the infrastructure of a city as would a hydrogen bomb. That means that when troops move into a city that has been neutron attacked, the buildings are still standing and it's not a vast wasteland.

You can add areas such as Laser Weapon's technology to this category of futuristic weapon's technology. In a dark sense of the word, neutron bomb technology is a much 'cleaner' form of world war than hydrogen bombs.

The possible drawback: If a 'cleaner' form of world war can be, or has been created, then there are more doors opened to the possibility of a world war before, say, 2050 (and there are many indications that the technology does exist, and is being perfected by the superpowers...and the technology might be available in other than superpower governments).

The positive aspect of neutron bomb technology is, of course, that though there will be countless deaths in an overpopulated world, there will be something left for future generations to regrow on.

I'd say it is a rather big deal for the forseeable future of humankind.

The world is perilously close to some form of catastrophic warfare never before experienced in enormity by humanity.

The world's governments should be addressing the perils of overpopulation and world war, and the people should be asking those kinds of questions.

Your children, or their children, may see something you would rather they not experience.

Happy Holidays,
fred call

Sent by fred call | 10:23 AM ET | 11-24-2007

pakistan is unstable. they stole nuclear secrets from india and it is very very very very very dangerous for a country with nuclear weapons to be thrown so casually within generals. 1/3 of the pakistani presidents have came by coup de tats. You tell me if that country is stable. USA needs to nuke them and get back all the nuclear weapons. Only stable and responsible countries should have this power. Especially since pakistan is a muslim country and at this time, muslim groups in the middle east are desperate for weapons to fight israel. It would be very dangerous is another coup was to happen, and the president was a little extreme....

Sent by Jacob Desiree | 2:29 AM ET | 12-07-2007

It???s all shrouded in mystery. Why did she return? Who directed her to take an openly anti-taliban stance before being elected to leadership knowing well enough the danger and threat of the taliban menace? What was Karzai doing in Pakistan the day she was assassinated? Is taliban & al quaeda a myth created to disinform and misinform ordinary folks?

Has she been knowingly served as a bait to the assassins? The well-built guy in the picure alleged to have shot the former premier seemed to be a professional sharpshooter from the army. Why was she in exile for eight long years? That is when Pakistan slowly plunged into uncertainty as Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto was forcibly alienated from the masses. Who decided that she be allowed to return? Who was dictating Pakistani politics? Who was behind the militarisation of Pakistan?

It seems that after Mujib, Gandhi and Bhutto it???s their children who are being targetted. Who is behind destabilisation of Pakistan? How will the region stop the spillover of the Afghan-US war into the whole region?

Pakistanis have to seriously do a lot of soul searching to answer the questions. Rest of the world especially China, India and Russia have to rethink and reorient their military and security options in the region since a civil war torn nuclearised Pakistan could be the biggest threat to her next door neighbors.

American involvement in the region is fanning the flames of militancy-based islamic terorism instead of dousing it. Islamic hardliners have infiltrated Pakistan including it???s army. Ziaul Haque still has followers aplenty within ISI.

There???s a real danger of islamic terrorism being exported to restive regions of China and Russia, India and Bangladesh.

The Bush administration has totaly failed to contain the monster it had created to fight the Russians in the 80s.

It can no longer be allowed to play with fire in the backyard of Asian superpowers. It is very likely that the Americans will face new strategic dilemmas in the region and may have already sunk into a quicksand. It may have no other option but to sit with the regional powers to seek a graceful exit in someone else's geopolitical arena to save it's skin. The Russians are actively engaged with the Chinese on this fast developing scenario which can have disastrous consequences for India, China and Russia if left unattended by the key players in the region.

Therefore, it???s high time that these countries immediately convene a summit outside the UN to take up the Pakistan conflagration and immediately address it by restoring a democratic government, detoxify the recalcitrant anti-people army and put Pakistani nuclear weapons under joint Russian-Chinese supervision.

It is in South Asia???s interest that Pakistan???s integrity and sovereignity is restored quickly through true democracy, though ironically by active engagement of two countries which are either undemocratic or newly democratising!

America???s duplicity and double standard in foreign policy is hurting the cause of democracy in South Asia. China and Russia should pursue a more active foreign polcy in the region before it???s too late. A nuclear mishap will devastate not only the South-Southeast Asian economies badly but also impact our long term environment and health matters.

Sent by Bahadur Shah Zafar the last Emperor of India | 11:47 AM ET | 12-30-2007

Sent by Bahadur Shah Zafar the last Emperor of India: A nuclear mishap will devastate not only the South-Southeast Asian economies badly but also impact our long term environment and health matters.

Time to come to grips with economic warfare as it relates to India and Pakistan and China and Russia.

There are those who want to see America fall to her knees by creating an economic collapse.

Meanwhile, you got a Muslim and Hindu hatred war that has been going on for a thousand years. One of the bloodiest wars experienced in history that has gone on unchecked between India and Pakistan.

Now, if India and Pakistan blow each other out of the water, it's not because of something that happened in this decade, or this century, or even something that has happened in the last five centuries.

The Hindu and Muslim wars have festered for a millennium. Now they each have the nuclear capacity to wipe each other off the face of the planet. Why? Because they have engaged in a long and ongoing war that they can't solve.

If India and Pakistan destroy each other, don't be blaming it on the United States. The United States wasn't even around when the Muslim and Hindu wars began.

If India and Pakistan do each other in, it's their fault. Not ours.

It is within America's right to protect itself from a war that has gone on for countless generations.

We didn't start their war.

fred camorra call

Sent by fred camorra call | 8:24 PM ET | 12-30-2007