The Potential Nuclear Threat
Pakistan and the world are currently facing a major crisis. The Taliban militants are right outside of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, threatening the stability of the country. As of Wednesday, April 22, the Taliban were as close as 60 miles to Islamabad. This is remarkably serious for Pakistan and for the international community. Pakistan is a nuclear armed nation, and if it falls, it will fall to a fundamentally Islamic terrorist group that is an enemy of the United States. The Taliban could also potentially give a nuclear weapon to Al Qaeda, proving detrimental for the United States and its allies.
Western governments that need Pakistan's support to defeat al Qaeda and succeed in stabilising Afghanistan, dread the idea of any threat to the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. "We can't even contemplate that," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview with Fox News in Baghdad. "We cannot ... let this go on any further. Which is why we're pushing so hard for the Pakistanis to come together around a strategy to take their country back."
Pakistan begins military offensive against militants | Reuters
The Taliban have established themselves as a major force in Northwestern Pakistan. This region has been feared to be a hotbed for Al Qaeda. The police and officials have fled this region, and the Taliban have taken complete control over everything north 60 miles outside Islamabad. The Pakistani government is searching for a peace deal, but that effort is being undermined because of constant strikes near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border by the United States. This is a very delicate issue as the United States watches it closely to make sure that its national se
Critics, including in Washington, have warned that the valley could become an officially sanctioned base for allies of al-Qaida — and that it may be just the first domino in nuclear-armed Pakistan to fall to the Taliban.
Taliban extend hold, advance near Pakistan capital
curity is not undermined by allowing the Taliban to acquire nuclear weapons.
