Members of the US Congress have been told in confidential briefings that Pakistan is rapidly adding to its nuclear arsenal even while racked by insurgency, raising questions on Capitol Hill about whether billions of dollars in proposed military aid might be diverted to Pakistan’s nuclear program.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs, confirmed the assessment of the expanded arsenal in a one-word answer to a question on Thursday in the midst of lengthy Senate testimony. Sitting beside US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, he was asked whether he had seen evidence of an increase in the size of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal.
“Yes,” he said quickly, adding nothing, clearly cognizant of Pakistan’s sensitivity to any discussion about the country’s nuclear strategy or security. Inside the Obama administration, some officials say, Pakistan’s drive to spend heavily on new nuclear arms has been a source of growing concern, because the country is producing more nuclear material at a time when Washington is increasingly focused on trying to assure the security of an arsenal of 80 to 100 weapons so that they will never fall into the hands of Islamic insurgents.
Official confirmation that Pakistan has accelerated expansion of its nuclear program only added to the consternation of those in Congress already voicing serious concern about the security of those warheads.
During a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Senator Jim Webb veered from the budget proposal under debate to ask Mullen about public reports “that Pakistan is, at the moment, increasing its nuclear program — that it may be actually adding onto weapons systems and warheads. Do you have any evidence of that?”
It was then that Mullen responded with his one-word confirmation. Webb said Pakistan’s decision was a matter of “enormous concern.”
A spokesman for the Pakistani government contacted on Friday declined to comment on whether his nation was expanding its nuclear weapons program, but said the government was “maintaining the minimum, credible deterrence capability.”
He warned against linking US financial assistance to Pakistan’s actions on its weapons program.
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