Pakistan 101 for American diplomats: US confident of nukes’ safety, despite al Qaeda presence
Cable sought to address tough questions that would be raised about Obama administration’s policy.
NEW DEHLI:
A good 15 months before it killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the United States was sure that al Qaeda retained its presence in the country and was plotting “new attacks” against America and its allies from its safe havens there and in Afghanistan.
But it was emphatically confident that the terrorist group could not lay its hands on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons guarded by the country’s military, according to a US diplomatic cable dated December 2, 2009 accessed by Indian newspaper The Hindu through WikiLeaks.
Sent under the signature of the Secretary of State, the main purpose of the cable was to explain threadbare to US missions around the world a newly announced policy of the Obama administration on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Q&A section of the cable sought to address tough questions that would be raised about the new policy, providing answers that it said would be useful to US missions abroad while engaging with host governments, media and others.
Among the questions the cable posed was this one: “Al Qaeda’s top leadership is in Pakistan; terrorists from Pakistan infiltrated Mumbai, India, and killed dozens of people; and all I see in this latest plan is more coddling of the Pakistani Government. We’ve treated the Pakistanis with kid gloves the past eight years. When are we finally going to play some hard ball?”
The reply: “Pakistan is a complex country, but also a critical ally in the common effort to fight violent extremists and promote regional security and the US has a serious and ongoing dialogue with Pakistan on combating al Qaeda and other extremists in South Asia.
“We work cooperatively with Pakistan to strengthen its counterinsurgency capacities to combat extremists. We understand and appreciate the sacrifices the people of Pakistan are making to win the war against extremism and bring security and peace to their country. Hundreds of Pakistani security officials have been killed in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan.”
Another question the cable posed was whether the Pakistan government still maintained ties with extremist groups.
The reply: “We have made it clear to Pakistan that confronting violent extremism of all types is in its own interest and in the interest of regional stability. The Government of Pakistan increasingly sees violent extremists as a threat to the Pakistani state as well as to regional stability.”
To a question about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and whether the US had any plans to seize them, the reply was emphatic: “The US has no intention to seize Pakistani nuclear weapons or material and has confidence in the ability of the Pakistani government to protect its nuclear assets.”
The cable posed a second question on the subject: “Does the US have plans to seize Pakistan’s nuclear weapons if they are in danger?” The reply was identical.
Earlier cables, however, had shown widespread concern about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons with worries stretching from Washington to Riyadh to Moscow, prompting the foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Basit to say that Western concerns about nuclear weapons were “misplaced and doubtless fall in the realm of condescension.”
The Pakistan Cables are being shared by The Hindu with NDTV in India and Dawn in Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2011.
A good 15 months before it killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the United States was sure that al Qaeda retained its presence in the country and was plotting “new attacks” against America and its allies from its safe havens there and in Afghanistan.
But it was emphatically confident that the terrorist group could not lay its hands on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons guarded by the country’s military, according to a US diplomatic cable dated December 2, 2009 accessed by Indian newspaper The Hindu through WikiLeaks.
Sent under the signature of the Secretary of State, the main purpose of the cable was to explain threadbare to US missions around the world a newly announced policy of the Obama administration on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Q&A section of the cable sought to address tough questions that would be raised about the new policy, providing answers that it said would be useful to US missions abroad while engaging with host governments, media and others.
Among the questions the cable posed was this one: “Al Qaeda’s top leadership is in Pakistan; terrorists from Pakistan infiltrated Mumbai, India, and killed dozens of people; and all I see in this latest plan is more coddling of the Pakistani Government. We’ve treated the Pakistanis with kid gloves the past eight years. When are we finally going to play some hard ball?”
The reply: “Pakistan is a complex country, but also a critical ally in the common effort to fight violent extremists and promote regional security and the US has a serious and ongoing dialogue with Pakistan on combating al Qaeda and other extremists in South Asia.
“We work cooperatively with Pakistan to strengthen its counterinsurgency capacities to combat extremists. We understand and appreciate the sacrifices the people of Pakistan are making to win the war against extremism and bring security and peace to their country. Hundreds of Pakistani security officials have been killed in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan.”
Another question the cable posed was whether the Pakistan government still maintained ties with extremist groups.
The reply: “We have made it clear to Pakistan that confronting violent extremism of all types is in its own interest and in the interest of regional stability. The Government of Pakistan increasingly sees violent extremists as a threat to the Pakistani state as well as to regional stability.”
To a question about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and whether the US had any plans to seize them, the reply was emphatic: “The US has no intention to seize Pakistani nuclear weapons or material and has confidence in the ability of the Pakistani government to protect its nuclear assets.”
The cable posed a second question on the subject: “Does the US have plans to seize Pakistan’s nuclear weapons if they are in danger?” The reply was identical.
Earlier cables, however, had shown widespread concern about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons with worries stretching from Washington to Riyadh to Moscow, prompting the foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Basit to say that Western concerns about nuclear weapons were “misplaced and doubtless fall in the realm of condescension.”
The Pakistan Cables are being shared by The Hindu with NDTV in India and Dawn in Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2011.