Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

a monkey to an altitude of 120 km (74 miles). A new
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report is
expected early in 2012 detailing Iran’s continued determination
to acquire nuclear weapons. Almost 3 years
after President Barack Obama offered an “extended
h<strong>and</strong>” to Iran, tensions rose further in 2011 as Washington
accused Tehran of being behind an alleged plot
to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the United States. Assuming
this is true, one wonders whether Iran now
believes that the relative decline <strong>and</strong> over-extension of
American military power make it possible to commit
such outrages against the United States <strong>and</strong> its allies
with impunity.
State-sponsored <strong>and</strong> other terrorist groups continue
to pursue acquiring WMDs. A video on Al Jazeera
TV in February 2009, shown more than 100,000 times
on various websites, featured a Kuwaiti professor
openly talking about bringing four pounds of drypowdered
anthrax to Washington, <strong>and</strong> killing several
hundred thous<strong>and</strong>s of Americans. Anders Breivik,
who killed over 70 campers on an isl<strong>and</strong> in Norway,
spoke of his using anthrax weapons. 6
A. Q. Khan, the “father” of the Pakistani nuclear
weapons program, masterminded an international
network of suppliers of materials, equipment, plans,
<strong>and</strong> technical assistance to countries cl<strong>and</strong>estinely
seeking to develop their own nuclear weapons in
violation of international treaties <strong>and</strong> legal norms.
We have no idea of how many A. Q. Khan Networks
may be operating today, but we do know there is a
strong dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> those willing to meet it. Pakistan
is continuing to build up its nuclear weapons program
amid continued security concerns, <strong>and</strong> Prime Minister
Singh has called for building up further India’s nucle-
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