(Pakistan Times)....Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says nuclear-armed Pakistan is the one place in the world “I worry a lot about,” but believes that the country's military is "quite in control" of its atomic weapons.
“It’s well known that we have talked with the Pakistanis about nuclear safety,” she told Newsmax TV, a conservative channel, when asked about the possibility of extremists seizing control of the government in Pakistan.
“There is generally a view by people who have studied Pakistan that the military is quite in control of their most dangerous weapons," she said. "But Pakistan is a very unstable place, and if I worry a lot about one place, it’s really Pakistan and the depth of extremism in some of those institutions.
“But there’s no indication that I know of extremists having that kind of scope to threaten the nuclear safety of the country,” Rice added.
Rice also was national security adviser during President George W. Bush’s first term before succeeding Colin Powell to become secretary of State in his second term. Her book, “No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington,” has just been published.
Questioned why, with the Iranians seemingly determined to develop nuclear weapons, the United States shouldn’t make an effort to take out their nuclear facilities, she said, “Obviously, the president of the United States should always keep that option on the table.
“President Bush kept that option on the table. But it’s easier said than done with Iran. The Iranians have made certain that population centers would be implicated in any such attack, and many have always wondered that that might push the Iranians and their regime closer together rather than separating them.
“So instead everyone has tried increasingly tough diplomacy with the Iranians, and now with some of the weaknesses in that regime we can always hope that there’s a good chance to bring it down.”
Rice added, “I don’t have any doubt that the Israelis will defend themselves if the Iranians look as if they really are about to cross that nuclear threshold.
“There is some not bad news — it looks as if there are problems in the Iranian nuclear programme. But pressure on the Iranian regime is an absolute must, because the unintended consequences of an attack by Israel on Iran, the very fact that we talk about something like that, shows how extremely crucial this issue is.
“It’s well known that we have talked with the Pakistanis about nuclear safety,” she told Newsmax TV, a conservative channel, when asked about the possibility of extremists seizing control of the government in Pakistan.
“There is generally a view by people who have studied Pakistan that the military is quite in control of their most dangerous weapons," she said. "But Pakistan is a very unstable place, and if I worry a lot about one place, it’s really Pakistan and the depth of extremism in some of those institutions.
“But there’s no indication that I know of extremists having that kind of scope to threaten the nuclear safety of the country,” Rice added.
Rice also was national security adviser during President George W. Bush’s first term before succeeding Colin Powell to become secretary of State in his second term. Her book, “No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington,” has just been published.
Questioned why, with the Iranians seemingly determined to develop nuclear weapons, the United States shouldn’t make an effort to take out their nuclear facilities, she said, “Obviously, the president of the United States should always keep that option on the table.
“President Bush kept that option on the table. But it’s easier said than done with Iran. The Iranians have made certain that population centers would be implicated in any such attack, and many have always wondered that that might push the Iranians and their regime closer together rather than separating them.
“So instead everyone has tried increasingly tough diplomacy with the Iranians, and now with some of the weaknesses in that regime we can always hope that there’s a good chance to bring it down.”
Rice added, “I don’t have any doubt that the Israelis will defend themselves if the Iranians look as if they really are about to cross that nuclear threshold.
“There is some not bad news — it looks as if there are problems in the Iranian nuclear programme. But pressure on the Iranian regime is an absolute must, because the unintended consequences of an attack by Israel on Iran, the very fact that we talk about something like that, shows how extremely crucial this issue is.
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