Radical Islam is one step closer to acquiring nuclear weapons
Posted by John Keller
Think we got trouble in Georgia and Russia? Get ready for some REAL bad news. President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is getting ready to resign . Don't care, you say? You better start caring, and here's why.
Musharraf may be no saint when it comes to international relations, but he's been instrumental in keeping the nuclear genie in the bottle
in the Middle East for years. When he's gone, all bets are off.
Musharraf is a U.S.-backed political strongman. People might claim he's a Western-backed dictator, and I've got precious little to argue against this claim. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't; that's not the point. Like him or not, Pakistan President Musharraf is one of the few barriers preventing radical Islamic extremists from getting the atom bomb.
Here's what I see happening.
Musharaf steps down and political instability reigns in Pakistan. The country sinks into civil war. The radical Islamic forces slowly prevail, despite desperate Western attempts to prevent their ascent to power.
Now guess what? The radical Muslims in Pakistan take control of that country's nuclear forces. The obsession radical Islam has with attacking the West now has nuclear weapons at its beck and call.
I've read from time to time that U.S. and other Western countries have special forces ready to enter Pakistan covertly and neutralize that country's nuclear arsenal. Gentlemen, the time to move is now.
If you don't, I shudder to think about what's next.
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
