[NYTr] US Special Forces on Standby Over Pakistani Nukes

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

The Herald (UK) - Dec 31, 2007
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/foreign/display.var.1933388.0.Special_forces_on_standby_over_nuclear_threat.php

Special forces on standby over nuclear threat

By IAN BRUCE, Defence Correspondent

US special forces snatch squads are on standby to seize or disable 
Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in the event of a collapse of government 
authority or the outbreak of civil war following the assassination of 
Benazir Bhutto.

The troops, augmented by volunteer scientists from America's Nuclear 
Emergency Search Team organisation, are under orders to take control of 
an estimated 60 warheads dispersed around six to 10 high-security 
Pakistani military bases.

Military sources say contingency plans have been reviewed over the past 
three days to prevent any of Pakistan's atomic weapons falling into the 
hands of Islamic extremists if the administration of President Pervez 
Musharraf appears threatened by civil unrest.
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Some of the special forces are already believed to be in neighbouring 
Afghanistan and on alert for the mission. It is also understood that 
satellite surveillance of Pakistan has been stepped up to keep track of 
the possible movement of nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems.

According to a US Congressional report published in November,
Pakistan's nuclear deterrent consists of warheads for missiles and
bombs dropped from aircraft.

To maintain security, the weapons are not stored fully-assembled. 
Warheads, detonators and missiles are kept separately, but able to be 
married up "fairly quickly" in the event of a national crisis such as 
confrontation with India.

While the US has stated publicly its confidence that Pakistan's
military has the weapons "under effective technical control", Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice admitted two years ago that if there was a
radical Islamic coup, the US was "prepared to try to deal with it".

Internal security at Pakistan's nuclear storage sites is the 
responsibility of a 10,000-man security force commanded by a two-star 
general. Every member of the force is vetted with the aim of weeding
out sympathisers of the Taliban and al Qaeda or anyone with extreme
Islamic views.

US diplomatic and military initiatives since 2001 have concentrated on 
trying to ensure that pro-western commanders were in charge at the most 
sensitive sites.

There has also been pressure to keep Pakistan's ISI intelligence
agency, thought to contain a number of high-ranking pro-Taliban
supporters, out of the nuclear loop.