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Taliban fighters in Pakistan.
(AP)
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Last update - 21:39 29/04/2009
Could the Taliban get the bomb before Iran does?
By Bradley Burston
Tags: Israel News, nuclear, Taliban 

Click here for more articles by Bradley Burston

Just when you thought you knew the unthinkable - now there's this:

"If the worst, the unthinkable, were to happen, and this advancing Taliban encouraged and supported by Al Qaeda and other extremists were to essentially topple the government for failure to beat them back," Hillary Clinton said at the weekend, "then they would have the keys to the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan."
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The Sunni organization's stunning momentum of late in taking over key territory in Pakistan raises the question, could the Taliban have a bomb before Tehran does?

The nightmare scenario of a nuclear Taliban was much in evidence in a Sunday editorial in The New York Times regarding the Pakistani military.

"And - most frightening of all - if the army cannot or will not defend its own territory against the militants, how can anyone be sure it will protect Pakistan?s 60 or so nuclear weapons?" the Times asked.
Clinton was right, the Times continued, when she warned last week that Pakistan was 'abdicating to the Taliban.'"

Here in Israel - in the eerie interregnum between air raid sirens last week marking the memorial day for victims of the Holocaust and air raid sirens this week marking the memorial day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism - the specter of a atom-packing Taliban lends an unaccustomed measure of uncharted territory to the all-too-familiar domain of the unthinkable.

In fact, as heavily as the prospect of catastrophe weighs during this period, Israelis may take a measure of cold comfort in the extent to which the Taliban relates to the Jewish state.

It doesn't.

Perhaps alone of all radical Islamic movements, the Taliban has taken no interest in Israel. It makes no pronouncements, threatens no annihilation, it has launched no campaigns to organize in the West Bank and Gaza.

Were they to take over Pakistan, they would lack delivery systems capable of reaching Israel, even if for some reason they decided on such a course.

Nonetheless, for some reason that goes beyond reason, I've decided to clean out our bomb shelter anyway. Perhaps because a Taliban bomb might convince Tehran to redouble its own long-delayed efforts at achieving a nuclear capability. Or because a bomb in Pakistan could be moved to a neighboring country with delivery capabilities.

Or because a hardline coalition legislator has suggested that the Taliban threat is one of the best reasons yet to unilaterally and pre-emptively bomb Iran. "If we take this action," Yaakov Katz of the far-right National Union party was quoted as saying on Sunday, "the U.S. is likely to act the same way against the rising terror threat in Islamabad, Pakistan."

Or maybe it's because, at a time of serial unthinkabilities, a prepared shelter is just one less thing to have to think about.


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  1.   Cutie Burston,and what if Taleban give the bomb to Syrians or Ir 15:19  |  Absolute Sweden 27/04/09
  2.   The nightmare scenerio almost missed 15:26  |  Chris Linthwaite 27/04/09
  3.   alqaeda and the taliban are mortal enemies of iran 15:53  |  steve 27/04/09
  4.   The Unthinkable..... 16:14  |  SUNDAY 27/04/09
  5.   Price of not reading the sign on the wall 16:17  |  Friend 27/04/09
  6.   Absolute Sweden 16:20  |  Persian Kitty 27/04/09
  7.   P.Kitty,Saddam gave his best jet fighters to sworn enemy ,Iran 17:04  |  Absolute Sweden 27/04/09
  8.   It`s Hard To Draw Conclusions When Every Government Is Lying... 17:09  |  Yosemite 27/04/09
  9.   bradley has not heard of india ??? does he think they will stand 17:27  |  v hardman 27/04/09
  10.   # 7 Absolute Sweden 18:03  |  Bob 27/04/09
  11.   pakistan, the taliban and the region 18:06  |  oneatatime 27/04/09
  12.   Taliban and the N Bomb 18:14  |  Rajiv 27/04/09
  13.   Such unbelievable paranoia. Borderline psychosis. 18:28  |  Lou Medel 27/04/09
  14.   #9 V Hardman 18:33  |  Chris Linthwaite 27/04/09
  15.   Whatever Bob,whatever.Fact remains 70 best Iraqi fighters flew 18:40  |  Absolute Sweden 27/04/09
  16.   This has been coming a long way already, the next stages 19:11  |  Kris Lazar 27/04/09
  17.   #13 Lou Medel - living in a cocoon 19:14  |  Yonatan 27/04/09
  18.   I hope that India, the US and NATO 19:15  |  Yonatan 27/04/09
  19.   Pakistan has no submarines 19:26  |  Sir Robert 27/04/09
  20.   Israel propaganda! 19:29  |  Dav 27/04/09
  21.   # 15 Absolute Sweden 19:41  |  Bob 27/04/09
  22.   If taliban get bomb they will use it on Iran 21:34  |  Eli 27/04/09
  23.   Pakistans Mlitary begins to react. 21:37  |  Stephen. 27/04/09
  24.   Wahabbis turned Pakistan into a Taliban land 21:40  |  Alicia 27/04/09
  25.   Mastering nuclear delivery technology 03:12  |  allang 28/04/09
  26.   "No delivery systems to reach Israel" 06:50  |  Peter Williams 28/04/09
  27.   Peter Williams : nuclear camel..... incoming 08:02  |  allang 28/04/09
  28.   19 Sir Robert, I guess you are not a Sealord 11:40  |  Ardi 28/04/09
  29.   Burston misses the point entirely 11:42  |  Roo 28/04/09
  30.   #27.allang. re Brisbane. 11:54  |  Stephen. 28/04/09
  31.   Ask you self. 12:00  |  JBT 28/04/09
  32.   those who live in glass houses...... 12:39  |  Arief Contractor 28/04/09
  33.   ROO Misses the point.creeping Islamist Taliban rule 14:06  |  PETER SM 28/04/09
  34.   Dear friend (5) Mumbai was the reading on the wall for all brave 14:18  |  Jew- and Bookburner 28/04/09
  35.   India and Iran have more to fear than Israel 14:57  |  Mark Leaman 28/04/09
  36.   Bradley 15:30  |  Yosemite 28/04/09
  37.   Alicia and that prep school history #24 15:30  |  Roo 28/04/09
  38.   Roo,your vision of "eternal warefare"shows how simple your mind 16:09  |  u ask 4 it,u got it 28/04/09
  39.   Absolute Sweden (Umpteenth Try) 16:39  |  Persian Kitty 28/04/09
  40.   #4 Sunday, Perhaps for you Israel should becoime an islamic state 17:00  |  Big Sur 28/04/09
  41.   Neturei Karta is most important Jewish group 17:33  |  Chaim 28/04/09
  42.   u ask 4 it,u got it 17:43  |  Roo 28/04/09
  43.   #6 Persian Kitty as you know I listen and respect you 17:46  |  Big Sur 28/04/09
  44.   Okay 17:49  |  Yosemite 28/04/09
  45.   "...some reason that goes beyond reason.." 17:56  |  Simon 28/04/09
  46.   #33 - Big Sur 17:58  |  Daniel 28/04/09
  47.   #` 35, Big Sur 18:02  |  SUNDAY 28/04/09
  48.   Big Sur, As I You 18:06  |  Persian Kitty 28/04/09
  49.   hi Daniel #38 18:20  |  Big Sur 28/04/09
  50.   Part two to #38 Daniel 18:22  |  Big Sur 28/04/09
  51.   Daniel #42 18:30  |  Big Sur 28/04/09
  52.   Middle East Authoritarian Regimes 19:19  |  Anonymous 28/04/09
  53.   #45 - Big Sur 19:25  |  Daniel 28/04/09
  54.   A dedicated supporter of Israel 19:46  |  Anonymous 28/04/09
  55.   #46 - Hello Big Sur 19:56  |  Daniel 28/04/09
  56.   #47 - Big Sur 20:03  |  Daniel 28/04/09
  57.   FREE ROXANNE SABERI 20:11  |  Anonymous 28/04/09
  58.   to bradley 03:15  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 29/04/09
  59.   Ro ro ro..., funny, USA trained Taliban! 07:34  |  Niva dos Santos 29/04/09
  60.   Persian Kitty #39 (2nd try) 11:02  |  S 29/04/09
  61.   Persian Kitty # 39 Absolute Sweden is absolute Bull S**t! 14:18  |  American in NY 29/04/09
  62.   To #13 --- Absolutely 15:10  |  PR 29/04/09
  63.   Unwanted informed commentary 18:15  |  Mark Lincoln 29/04/09
  64.   Mark Lincoln informed commentary always wanted 19:26  |  American in NY 29/04/09
  65.   Bravo Mark Lincoln 22:32  |  Kaiser Needlebaum 29/04/09
  66.   @ 1 23:50  |  Taco Delmar 29/04/09
  67.   Kaiser Needlebaum The Taliban are not acting on their own.The ISI 02:42  |  PETER SM 30/04/09
  68.   Ha Ha Ha 06:22  |  Andreiev 30/04/09
  69.   Well the saudis have been playing both sides for a long time with 08:45  |  ks 30/04/09
  70.   Not really concerened. 02:56  |  D 03/05/09
  71.   Could the Taliban get the bomb before Iran does? 18:27  |  Gavin 10/05/09
  72.   Taliban in league with Al Qeda killed the most US citizens ever 15:33  |  r 11/05/09
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