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A nuclear-armed Taliban?
Space War ^ | 9/29/2009 | Lawrence Sellin

Posted on 09/30/2009 6:12:00 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld

A nuclear-armed Taliban? It may not be as far-fetched as it might first appear. The Taliban already control or have a significant presence in northwest Pakistan along a critical stretch of the Afghan border. Taliban units operate with relative impunity in the region surrounding Peshawar, Pakistan's major population, commercial and transportation center less than 100 miles from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

Dominance of Taliban and al-Qaida forces in the pivotal northwest region of Pakistan provides not only a sanctuary and training centers for attacks on Afghanistan, but it has become a base of operations to weaken any pro-Western sentiments among the Pakistani people and the government in Islamabad.

Not the least of which are the attacks the Taliban and al-Qaida have mounted against Pakistani nuclear sites in the neighboring province of Punjab. According to an article published in the Long War Journal by Bill Roggio, attacks on the Kamra and Sargodha air bases may have been designed to intimidate officers either on the fence or who do not support the Islamists and erode the military's capacity to defend nuclear installations. The Taliban's control of northwest Pakistan and its strong presence, along with al-Qaida, in Quetta and Baluchistan province in general is a threat to the status quo in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

If unchecked, an unambiguous Taliban victory in Afghanistan will not only produce mass executions on a scale not seen since the killing fields of Pol Pot's Cambodia and a refugee crisis like Darfur, but it will produce massive political aftershocks and enormously strengthen the hand of radical elements throughout the region. We are only fooling ourselves if we believe that a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan will not become a center for the export of radical Islamic ideology and terrorism

(Excerpt) Read more at spacewar.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: afganistan; alqaida; aqkhan; islamabad; nuclear; nuclearweapons; pakistan; punjab; southasia; taliban; terrorism

1 posted on 09/30/2009 6:12:00 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
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To: sonofstrangelove

Well...It’s only fair...Libs and Lefties have all said that. They would rather the Taliban have nukes than the evil USA or Israel.


2 posted on 09/30/2009 6:14:44 PM PDT by Dallas59
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To: sonofstrangelove

Let the games begin!


3 posted on 09/30/2009 6:15:53 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: sonofstrangelove

I wonder what India would do in such a situation, given that a Taliban victory would be a clear sign of abdication from leadership in the region by the US, thus clearing the path for some other nation to act.


4 posted on 09/30/2009 6:19:42 PM PDT by Little Pig (Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.)
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To: sonofstrangelove

AQ Khan is free. Has been for some time. So’s the Cole mastermind. And how many others.

Did we not think those mountains at Tora Bora were very well equipped? And supplied?


5 posted on 09/30/2009 6:26:21 PM PDT by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spirito Sancto.)
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To: Little Pig

yah...India is the 800 pound nuclear armed gorilla on the other side of Pakistan that nobody wants to bring into this...just how much Taliban they will put up with before acting unilaterally to defend themselves is a very big question...


6 posted on 09/30/2009 6:30:51 PM PDT by Bean Counter (No, I am Jim Thompson!!)
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To: Bean Counter

If India thinks it’s in danger of a nuclear attack to its territory, watch out.


7 posted on 09/30/2009 6:40:04 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (The Democrat party is a criminal enterprise.)
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To: All

8 posted on 09/30/2009 10:47:22 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld ("We will either find a way, or make one."Hannibal/Carthaginian Military Commander)
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