Source:
The Independent (UK)Pakistan's military has angrily insisted that its nuclear weapons arsenal is safely protected and denounced claims that it is secretly negotiating with the United States to allow teams of American specialists to provide added security in the event of a crisis.
In a rare public statement, General Tariq Majid, chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, said claims that it was discussing "understandings" with the US that could even see the specialists spirit sophisticated nuclear triggers out of the country to prevent them falling into the wrong hands were "absurd and plain mischievous". "There is absolutely no question of sharing or allowing any foreign individual, entity or state, any access to sensitive information about our nuclear assets," he added.
His comments came after the publication of an article in The New Yorker by the respected investigative reporter Seymour Hersh which claimed that deepening concern within the Obama administration about the situation inside Pakistan had persuaded Washington that more needed to be done to protect the stockpile of a country that it considers an important regional ally.
The article also claimed that the threat could come from Islamist elements within the military or intelligence establishment as well as militants. It quotes a former US intelligence official as saying: "The Pakistanis gave us a virtual look at the number of warheads, some of their locations, and their command-and-control system ... We got their security plans, so we could augment them in case of a breach of security."
Read more:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/us-wants-to-guard-pakistans-nuclear-arsenal-1818225.html
US denies Pakistan nuclear reportSource:
Al Jazeera English=snip=
Hersh, a Pulitzer prize-winning writer, said in his report that the US and Pakistan have agreed on a security protocol allowing a special US team to assist in the guarding of Pakistan's nuclear armaments.
"There certainly is a rapid response force; I'll take it a step further – it is called a 'Tailored Fest'," he told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.
"I just wish they would not deny stuff that is actually publicly available if you know where to look for it. It is a force that (will act) in case of any nuclear incident or any other terrorism-related incident.
"The men, and the women, who I assume will work on it include not only US state department counter-terror people but also the CIA, the FBI and other special operators, as a unified team.
"They have to report within four hours of a crisis to Andrews air field (in Washington DC) and be sent on their way."
Hersh said that the unit was scrambled last summer to respond to an alert in Pakistan, but the incident proved to be a false alarm.
"There was a report that turned out to be aborted (about) some nuclear incident, probably a missing nuke in Pakistan. This is a super worry for the United States of America, and it always has been," Hersh said.
Full article & link to video of Hersh's interview on Al Jazeera English:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/11/200911110442955448.htmlHersh's report in The New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/16/091116fa_fact_hersh
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