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As predicted, here’s the State Department press briefing today. An elegant, if somewhat foreshadowed, answer on Sy Hersh’s new piece:
QUESTION: Can I just ask for a comment on – there is a Seymour Hersh report on nuclear weapons in Pakistan, saying that the U.S. is concerned about the safety of nuclear weapons in Pakistan and could try to seize it at a certain point. Is there a comment on that? Is there a plan underway, and are there concerns?
MR. KELLY: Well, first of all, let me just say the U.S. has no intention of seizing Pakistani nuclear weapons or material. We see Pakistan as a key ally in our common effort to fight violent extremists and to foster regional stability. We’re working very closely with Pakistan on a number of important initiatives regarding regional security. We do provide them with assistance, of course, as you know. And as the Secretary has said, we have confidence in the ability of the Pakistani Government to provide adequate security for their nuclear programs and materials. And we have a number of security assistance initiatives that are focused on strengthening counterinsurgency capacities to foster stability.
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And honestly, what else COULD they say?
It also happens to have the unfortunate aspect of being correct. There’s no way that the US military could access the sites where all the nukes are held and take them out without either full permissions and a partnership with the Pakistani government, which will never do that as long as India has nukes. If the Pakistani government collapsed as a result of fighting the Taliban escalating into a civil war, there just could be the slightest chance of success, but it would still be impractical, and it’s improbable enough to say that such a circumstance will never happen.
Is there concern in the national security leadership? Yeah, sure, but not like bed-soaked night sweats concern. Sy Hersh is, as he has consistently done over the past two decades, taken a grain of truth and expounded upon that grain into a sensationalistic news story that has no merit in serious discussion. Just like when he claimed JSOC was Cheney’s personal hit squad, this story has no basis in reality.