Damage Control Required, Pakistan, Musharraf, Nuclear Futures

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 14 (UPI) — Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has taken control of the National Command Authority which guards the country’s nuclear weapons.

The authority allowing the president to assume control of the agency came through an ordinance which Musharraf sanctioned. The move comes amid growing global concerns about Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of Islamic radicals with rising instability in the country.

Pakistan, currently under emergency rule, is set to hold parliamentary elections on Jan. 8, which may see those opposed to Musharraf coming to power.

Constant U.S. flow of aid buys time for Musharraf

Han S. Park is a professor of Public and International Affairs and director of the Center for the Study of Global Issues at the University of Georgia.

“If American foreign policy has anything to do with the protection and spread of democracy, there is absolutely no justification for supporting this dictator. On the other hand, the Bush administration has found an ally in Musharraf in its “war on terror” as Musharraf claims to be fighting al-Qaida, Taliban militants and Islamic extremists on behalf of America. He seeks justification for his current emergency measures under the pretext of national security.”

“Prolonged support of Musharraf by the Bush administration could exacerbate the chaos to the point where the embattled and frustrated population may embrace the militant extremists, leading possibly to a theocratic dictatorship. America must realize, albeit belatedly, that we have neither pragmatic incentives nor moral justifications for keeping the dictator and consequently undermining the democratic forces in Pakistan.”

However, the big question still remains: Will we be able to prevent a nuclear Pakistan from falling into the hands of radical fundamentalists? In the short run, probably yes; but in the long run, the challenge is real.

“As for the task of keeping nuclear weapons “out of the wrong hands,” we must take a two-track approach. While it is imperative for the Bush administration to guard against any major political upheavals that may allow nuclear arsenals to fall into the hands of militant extremists, it is time for Washington to map out a grand and persuasive strategy to rid the world of nuclear weapons.”

WASHINGTON: The United States is helping Pakistan keep its nuclear weapons secure in a top-secret program that has cost Washington almost 100 million dollars since 2001, The New York Times reported.

But Pakistan still refuses to allow US experts into its nuclear sites, the newspaper said, revealing information it first obtained three years ago but, due to a White House request, had not reported until now.

Impressed with the insight offered by the knowledgeable professor Han S. Park, BossKitty wonders if any intelligent opinions will ever be associated with this administration. Professor Park is just one of many resources overlooked in favor of a narrow exclusive agenda pursued by the Royal Bush Mafia. There is a serious condition in Pakistan that puts the control of nuclear weapons at risk. The US has placed all it’s money on just one card in an ‘all or nothing’ game. The part of the country that has been westernized is what the Bush Mafia has put at risk.

This administration’s myopic policy has fanned simmering fundamentalism into a fire. This fire threatens to get out of control and consume Pakistan. So much anger and revenge, among factions, has created a no win situation surrounding Musharraf. When he ends ‘emergency rule’ the opposition will jump full force into ending the Musharraf dictatorship. Musharraf will, then, tighten the screws on the judicial system and become even more oppressive. Western interests will have to forfeit all their bribe money, and toys, too. The angry, self righteous fundamentalists will have their way in the end. Why? Because they multiply every time the ‘west’ tries to stomp them out. The world has witnessed the lesson that muscle alone, without brains to direct its use, only creates destruction. Fundamentalism with muscle becomes a jihad or crusade, featuring exclusive entitlements because they are special. After all, God, through a spokesman, told them so. Christian Crusaders and Muslim Jihadists are flexing their political muscle at the expense of the rest of the world. Why? Because, these two religions disagree on the spokesman and are willing to kill!