The Al Qaeda-Iran Connection. Some unconfirmed reports have hinted at a prisoner exchange with al Qaeda in Pakistan, which had captured a senior Iranian spy; there may have been a trade with Tehran for the exiles. Another theory: as U.S.-Iranian relations deteriorated in 2010 over Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s suppression of dissidence at home. Pakistan denies al-Qaida targeting nuclear facilities. Pakistan's military has strenuously rejected allegations by a British academic that al-Qaida is targeting the country's nuclear facilities in an attempt to obtain weapons for use against the west. In an article for a US military journal, Professor Shaun Gregory, of the University of Bradford. We clamped economic and military sanctions on Pakistan because of its program to develop a nuclear weapon. Pursuit of Al Qaeda within Pakistan, and the larger U.S. War on terror, really hold. The Taliban’s Nuclear Threat. As insurgents close in on Islamabad, The Daily Beast’s Gerald Posner reports that Taliban forces are on the verge of seizing Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal—which has the capability to hit India, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. The Umma-Tameer-e-Nau (UTN), founded by Pakistani nuclear scientists with close ties to al Qaeda and the Taliban, was headed by Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, who had been in charge of Pakistan's Khushab reactor. He discussed al Qaeda's nuclear aspirations with bin Laden.
Al Qaeda In AfghanistanPresidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday he would not use nuclear weapons 'in any circumstance' to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, drawing criticism from Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Democratic rivals.
'I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance,' Obama said, with a pause, 'involving civilians.' Then he quickly added, 'Let me scratch that. There's been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That's not on the table.'
Obama was responding to a question by the Associated Press about whether there was any circumstance where he would be prepared or willing to use nuclear weapons in Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat terrorism and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
'There's been no discussion of using nuclear weapons and that's not a hypothetical that I'm going to discuss,' Obama said after a Capitol Hill breakfast with constituents.
When asked whether his answer also applied to the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons, he said it did.
The Illinois senator, in a speech Wednesday, warned Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that he would use U.S. military force in Pakistan even without Musharraf's permission if necessary to root out terrorists.
Asked about Obama's speech and his comments about nuclear weapons, New York Sen. Clinton chided Obama for addressing hypotheticals.
Al Qaeda Attacks In Pakistan
'Presidents should be very careful at all times in discussing the use or nonuse of nuclear weapons. ... I don't believe that any president should make any blanket statements with respect to the use or nonuse of nuclear weapons,' Clinton said.
Asked about the idea of unilateral U.S. military action in Pakistan to get al Qaeda leadership, Clinton said: 'How we do it should not be telegraphed or discussed for obvious reasons.'
Obama's spokesman, Bill Burton, responded: 'If we had actionable intelligence about the existence of high-level al Qaeda targets like Osama bin Laden, Senator Obama would act and is confident that conventional means would be sufficient to take the target down. Frankly we're surprised that others would disagree.'
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Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, one of Obama's presidential rivals, also criticized Obama's comments about unilateral military action in Pakistan to pursue terrorists.
'It's a well-intended notion he has, but it's a very naJive way of figuring out how you're going to conduct foreign policy,' Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on National Public Radio's 'The Diane Rehm Show.'
Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee along with Obama, also took his rival to task.
'Over the past several days, Senator Obama's assertions about foreign and military affairs have been, frankly, confusing and confused. He has made threats he should not make and made unwise categorical statements about military options,' Dodd said in a statement.
Pakistan has nuclear weapons and is politically unstable, raising concerns that the current military leadership could be replaced by religious fanatics who would be less cautious in using the weapons.
Obama warned that terrorists in the mountains of Pakistan are planning another attack on the United States, after already killing 3,000 Americans in their 2001 attacks.
'It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005.' he said. 'If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf will not act, we will.'
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In an AP interview Thursday, the governor of Pakistan's largest province said Obama's comments undermine crucial efforts to win Pakistanis' support for the fight against terrorists.
Baluchistan Gov. Owais Ahmed Ghani, whose province shares a long border with Afghanistan, said Pakistanis watch their soldiers being killed in the fight against militants and say, 'If that is the sort of signal that is coming out of Washington, why bother?'
Al Qaeda Nuclear Program Of Pakistan 2016
'Nothing must be said or done which will undermine the vital public support that Pakistan needs, the world needs,' he said.
Al Qaeda Nuclear Program Of Pakistan Map
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