Should the United States be the World’s Police Force? Threat of Loose Nukes in Pakistan Raises Issue Yet Again

After the military operation in Pakistan that led to the death of the number one most wanted man on America’s hit list -- namely Osama Bin Laden -- relations between the US and Pakistan have become much less cordial.

It’s been no secret that Pakistan has an arsenal of nuclear weapons, and the concern among many figures in Washington is the question of what would happen if those weapons of destruction were to fall into the wrong hands. There could be very serious consequences no matter what Pakistan decides to do with these weapons.

An ever present threat from Pakistan nukes

It’s no secret that the United States has had an interest in securing these weapons of mass destruction from Pakistan, and the reason why this is the case has more to do with our overall view of Pakistan and it’s security measures. Of the nine countries that the US and its military take a hard look at as far as their overall security measure are concerned, the US sees Pakistan as the least secure of the nine. It also did not help their position that Osama Bin Laden had been in hiding there either. 

A former Pakistani president’s US visit

Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf paid a visit to the US back in July, and met with the Governor of Texas Rick Perry to discuss continuing problems between the US and Pakistan.

Musharraf also had an interview (not quite sure of the actual date when it took place) and in the interview had warned that a “snatch and grab” operation conducted by the United States to grab Pakistan’s nuclear weaponry would be look upon unfavorably by the Pakistani government and would place both countries in conflict, and possible military retaliation.

Pakistan looks upon these weapons with patriotic pride, and Musharraf tried to assure the press and the government that the weapons were very well hidden throughout Pakistan, in tunnels dug under mountains, in cities and on regular government military installations throughout the country.

Musharraf has also said these weapons are being guarded by a military force that comprises more than 18,000 troops and he stressed that “(This) is not an army which doesn't know how to fight. 
This is an army which has fought three wars.  Please understand that.”

Surprising figures

I just found out the extent of support that the US had given to Pakistan in trying to help our ally, and frankly it’s a pretty staggering number when we look at the actual dollar amount, which happens to be $800 million dollars to help aid Pakistan’s military. Frankly when I hear these types of figures being bandied about when it comes to aiding other countries, I have to cringe just a bit.

What about America’s problems?

By the time you read this story, you should already be aware that the US’s credit rating has been downgraded to AA+, which has put us below such countries a Norway, Britain, Germany, Australia, and Austria.

And why did this happen? Because the people who we elected to run our country and make the hard choices, just “punted” the pigskin so to speak. My problem with this whole scenario comes down to the fact that we seem to be able to stick our noses in other countries affairs, but we can’t get it right here in our own backyard!

Think about this for a moment…$800 Million Dollars that we could have used to shore up our own economy. Put people back to work, get Americans re-trained to learn new job skills or how about finding a way to use that money as a cash infusion to somehow lower the tax burden on hard working middle class America. Or even better how about paying off a few mortgages or throwing that cash toward Social Security?

What are the plans?

The plans that the US may use to accomplish this task are:

• “Elimination operations” – defined as “operations systematically to locate, characterize, secure, disable and/or destroy a State or non-State actor’s WMD programs and related capabilities”
• “Interdiction operations” – finding and seizing nuclear devices or nuclear material it has been removed from a nation’s storage bunkers but not yet delivered to a terrorist group.

These are just two of many different scenarios that are being considered at the moment, as all the while we still continue to try to mend relationships with this supposed us operation. And the question about all of this remains why do we need to be the world’s police force, when we should be focusing on the needs of the American people.

And if we do proceed with this plan, can we afford to initiate another war in a place where we do not belong, and support another war effort while our credit has just been reduced to a AA+ rating? What would the cost of this war be on America and its already struggling economy? Think about that, as you're waiting to see if you can even afford to retire when you’re of age.