U.S. Has Plan to Secure Pakistan Nukes if Country Falls to Taliban
American intelligence sources say the military's chief terrorist-hunting squad
has units operating in Afghanistan on Pakistan's western border and is working
on a secondary mission to secure foreign nuclear arsenals if the Taliban or Al
Qaeda overwhelm Pakistan.
By Rowan Scarborough
FOXNews.com
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The United States has a detailed plan for infiltrating Pakistan and securing
its mobile arsenal of nuclear warheads if it appears the country is about to
fall under the control of the Taliban, Al Qaeda or other Islamic extremists.
American intelligence sources say the operation would be conducted by Joint
Special Operations Command, the super-secret commando unit headquartered at
Fort Bragg, N.C.
JSOC is the military's chief terrorists hunting squad and has units now
operating in Afghanistan on Pakistan's western border. But a secondary mission
is to secure foreign nuclear arsenals -- a role for which JSOC operatives have
trained in Nevada.
The mission has taken on added importance in recent months, as Islamic
extremists have taken territory close to the capital of Islamabad and could
destabilize Pakistan's shaky democracy.
"We have plans to secure them ourselves if things get out of hand," said a U.S.
intelligence source who has deployed to Afghanistan. "That is a big secondary
mission for JSOC in Afghanistan."
The source said JSOC has been updating its mission plan for the day President
Obama gives the order to infiltrate Pakistan.
"Small units could seize them, disable them and then centralize them in a
secure location," the source said.
A secret Defense Intelligence Agency document first disclosed in 2004 said
Pakistan has a nuclear arsenal of 35 weapons. The document said it plans to
more than double the arsenal by 2020.
A Pakistani official said the U.S. and his country have had an understanding
that if either Usama bin Laden, or his deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, is located,
American troops and air strikes may be used inside borders to capture or kill
them.
What makes the Pakistan mission especially difficult is that the military has
its missiles on Soviet-style mobile launchers and rail lines. U.S. intelligence
agencies, using satellite photos and communication intercepts, is constantly
monitoring their whereabouts. Other warheads are kept in storage. U.S.
technical experts have visited Pakistan to advise the government on how to
maintain and protect its arsenal.
Also, there are rogue elements inside Pakistan's military and intelligence
service who could quickly side with the extremists and make JSOC's mission all
the more difficult.
"It's relatively easy to track rail-mounted ones with satellites," said the
intelligence source. "Truck- mounted are more difficult. However, they are all
relatively close to the capital in areas that the government firmly controls so
we don't have to look too far."
JSOC is made up of three main elements: Army Delta Force, Navy SEALs and a
high-tech special intelligence unit known as Task Force Orange. JSOC was
instrumental in Iraq in finding and killing Abu Musab Zarqawi, the deadly and
most prominent Al Qaeda leader in the Middle East.
There is speculation in the intelligence community that a secondary reason for
Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal being named the next commander in Afghanistan
is that he headed JSOC in 2006-08 and is read-in on its contingency missions in
Pakistan.
Adm. Michael Mullen, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, this month said that based
on the information he has seen Pakistan's nuclear warheads are safe.
"I remain comfortable that the nuclear weapons in Pakistan are secure, that the
Pakistani leadership and in particular the military is very focused on this,"
he said. "We the United States have invested fairly significantly over the last
three years, to work with them, to improve that security. And we're satisfied,
very satisfied with that progress. We will continue to do that. And we all
recognize obviously the worst downside of -- with respect to Pakistan is that
those nuclear weapons come under the control of terrorists. "
Rowan Scarborough is the author of "Rumsfeld's War: The Untold Story of
America's Anti-Terrorist Commander;" and "Sabotage: America's Enemies Within
the CIA."
