One of the biggest panic moments of the first year of the Obama Administration is just finally coming to light, with a revelation from David Sanger’s new book “Confront and Conceal,” in which it is reported that officials were told it was possible the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had acquired nuclear weapons.
Apparently the CIA had gotten it in their head early in the summer that the TTP “could” have a nuclear bomb and was considering obliterating an as-yet-unknown US city. They added that the claims were based on “ambiguous” evidence.
The president dispatched a “disablement team” to find and destroy the nuclear weapon in response, though officials say that the team never actually entered Pakistan and was simply “in the region.”
The panic eventually subsided, after officials decided that it might mean Pakistan had lost a nuke to the TTP, and checked with Pakistan, which confirmed that they hadn’t lost one. According to the book, it was then speculated that the NSA had “misunderstood” the TTP cables they intercepted and the whole threat was illusory.
Although this article may be a joke, but it is quite likely that we may be in for a blowback in the future for all the “good things” our military has done to multiple nations.
Nukes can be stolen or simply bought. During the implosion of the USSR reports came out that some nukes had been sold. Who knows who bought them and for use against what target.
i call bs. just another story to make obama seem like a tough guy.
No mistake, no error – it is all about constantly spreading fear. "Keep them frightened and we control them."
A truly ignorant article if ever there was one. Just too many issues to list. I'd like to know why antiwar.com promotes claptrap like this.
You folks at antiwar.com need to pop over to stopwar.org.uk to see how it's done properly..
Jonny B, thanks for posting the stopwar.org.uk. It's awesome.
Glad you like.. me too think its great website..
thanks for that second-ing —now I'm looking. (Weird how the mind works).
Jonny B,
You are a complete moron. Antiwar.com just reported a news item. It's a real news item. And relevant. But you don't get it, can't get it.
They're not "promoting" it, they're reporting what other — as in other than you — emotionally, socially, and culturally damaged humans in positions of importance are doing.
And if you're being a moron in order to tout your own stopwar.org in some sort of perverted competition, ….get a friggin clue.
Sometimes reporting and promoting are one and the same..
Stopwar is not mines. Its a site that genuinely wants to put a stop to current wars as is reflected in the quality of their articles (and the events they organise). It's a sentiment that often I have trouble finding here at antiwar.
Rather than creating division by criticizing destructively, you should try to find the positive aspects of a work done for the sake of pacifism. I admit, this is a less than perfect pubication tbut I'm sure the object of your worship must have its weanesses. When I read the adjectives you used to refer to the article and Antiwar.com, for some reason the term fifth column came to my mind.
Now why would the CIA be spooked if they had a nuke? Oh, I forgot, they have been meddling in their affairs for a few decades or so…
I'd be spooked too if someone I continually bullied brings out the big guns..
The TTP are probably illiterate tribal people who have probably never heard of the 9/11 attacks that are used to justify attacking their countries in the region. Yet the NSA believed these simple people could of had a nuke? What a joke..
Al Qaeda is also tribal and mostly illiterate; however, they brought about 9/11 if we are to believe the US.
That's if you believe the official conspiracy. Plus the Al-Qaeda is not a tribe so get your facts straight.
Yes of course, it's so easy to smuggle nukes into the US these days. The Taliban probably couldn't believe their luck when they found a nuke for sale at their local market. Seriously who makes this nonsense up?
"…the whole threat was illusory…"
The fundamental principle of our age.