Are Pakistan’s nukes secure?

President Obama was asked the question last night from NBC’s Chuck Todd. And it went more or less like this: if Pakistan’s army is slugging it out with Taliban militants just 80 or so miles away from the capital of Islamabad, are those nuclear weapons really as secure as we would hope?

Obama said he’s “gravely concerned about the situation in Pakistan.” But he said, “I’m confident that we can make sure that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is secure.”

Todd followed up by asking about the worst-case scenario and whether the US military could secure Pakistani nuclear weapons if need be. Obama said he didn’t want to engage in hypotheticals, but that, “I feel confident that that nuclear arsenal will remain out of militant hands.”

I called up Matthew Bunn to get a reality check on this and he said he doesn’t share the president’s confidence. Bunn is an expert on nuclear theft, terrorism and proliferation.

“Certainly, Pakistan has taken extensive measures to improve security for its nuclear weapons,” Bunn said. “Those nuclear weapons are very heavily defended, we believe.” He added that they are stored in parts, at separate locations. But the risks are still too high, Bunn said. First, there’s the militant threat from Taliban and like-minded armed jihadi-types. Then, there’s the issue of Pakistani officials – in the security and possibly in the nuclear establishment – who’ve had connections in the past with black market nuclear activities.

Stay tuned… I’ll include my interview with Bunn in the next American Influence podcast episode.

Required torture reading

Two pieces from the weekend on the torture story point out how “enhanced interrogation” was used to attempt to justify the invasion of Iraq.

Money quote from the Frank Rich’s op-ed:

“A large part of the time we were focused on trying to establish a link between Al Qaeda and Iraq and we were not being successful.”

And here’s Andrew Sullivan’s.

Torture keeps us safe, cont.

The argument that Team Cheney is making now about torture centers on effectiveness. Whether or not some pencil-necked international law experts believe that “enhanced interrogation techniques” amounted to torture, so the reasoning goes, waterboarding worked. It prevented terrorist attacks. Salon.com’s Joe Conason examines that line and finds, not so much.

American Influence Podcast #17

Hillary Clinton told the House Foreign Relations committee that the Obama administration is laying the groundwork for “crippling sanctions” for Iran, should the leadership in Tehran not comply with US demands to halt certain nuclear activities.

I talked with Prof. George Lopez about this and he’s somewhat skeptical about these “crippling sanctions.”

Violence in Iraq this week harkens back to the bad old days of 2006 and 2007. Just take a look at this horrifying lead sentence in a NYTimes story today.

BAGHDAD — At least 80 people died and 120 others were injured Thursday in three bombings, one by a female suicide bomber in Baghdad who, Iraqi officials said, held a young child’s hand as she set off her explosives among a group of women and children receiving emergency food aid.

Episode 17 of the podcast includes an interview from 4/24/09 on the recent spate of suicide bombings in Iraq. The World’s Katy Clark talked with BBC Baghdad correspondent, Jim Muir.

America Abroad Radio senior producer Sean Carberry just got back from Baghdad. And I spoke with Sean about some of the logistical challenges facing Iraqi security forces as US troops prepare to head for the exits. Check out the blog where Sean’s been posting anecdotes and photos from his reporting trips.

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Obama wants “gestures”

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