Terror Experts Warn Of Pakistan Threat

(CBS)  The upheaval in Pakistan has experts fearful on two fronts. First, there is a deep concern over the security of the 80 to 100 devices in Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports.

"If Pakistan were to deteriorate further, the control of those weapons would be up for grabs," said Stephen Cohen of the Brookings Institute. "And we don't want to see that happen."

That could trigger an unthinkable cataclysm - if those weapons were taken by a rogue state or a terror group. And that's the second worry. Al Qaeda is a re-invigorated enemy that's poised to take advantage of the turmoil.

"It has to increase the threat against the U.S. because it gives al Qaeda precisely the breathing space, the opportunistic moment in time now that they will have now because of the distraction because of the instability in Pakistan," said terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman of Georgetown University.

Six years after 9/11, it's Pakistan, not Afghanistan or Iraq, that's the central front in the president's war on terror.

Top U.S. intelligence analysts say al Qaeda has re-established a central command inside "a safe haven" in the tribal regions of Pakistan - with top leaders continuing to train fresh recruits and plot new attacks.

Al Qaeda operatives, trained in Pakistan, have already launched numerous terror plots, including the suicide bombings of the London subway and the failed plans to blow up US bound airliners and strike U.S. targets in Germany.

In the early months after 9/11, Pakistan proved to be a strong ally, helping to capture top terrorists, including Sept. 11 attack plotter Ramzi Bin al-Shibh.

But, recent efforts by Pakistani troops to take out al Qaeda have failed. And with the Musharraf government now worried about its own survival, the fight against bin Laden's forces is not its top priority.

"This might be an environment that al Qaeda might try to do something staged out of Pakistan, but directed toward the West," said Former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center John Brennan, who is a CBS News Analyst.

U.S. security officials say they're not hearing any increased "chatter" about new threats. But as the instability in Pakistan grows, so do their worries.

[chamaco1-2009]

BUSH ALLOWED BIN LADEN TO ESCAPE BECAUSE IF HE CAPTURED OR KILLED HIM HE WOU;D HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER SUPER TERRORIST IN ORDER TO JUSTIFY OUR CONTINUED PRESENCE IN IRAG.IF WE PULLED OUT OF IRAG *** CHENEY''S OIL BUDDIES WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SIGN SECRETE OIL DEALS WITH THE KURDS.ANYONE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE THIS WAS ABOUT OIL FROM THE START IS SUCKING HIS THUMB.

[flipantflaw]

'' ... the media loves to make a living reporting lots of peoples hardships, yet people don''t have one of those grocery / conveinence / restaurant relationships with their market share providets ... folk seeking marketshare must get killed in a conspiracy or must behave in some socalled extreme embarassmant fashion in order to attain any scraps of major media attention ... that or pay a fortune scarcely any can afford ... and even then you best not be some lazy naked ignorant profane blemished promiscuous child wishing for a less cruel world ... ''

'' ... 90,000 countys of 90,000 folk, 90,000 networks of 90,000 folk, 300 villages of 300 folk, 300 channels of 300 folk, 20 homes of 20 folk, 20 sites of 20 folk, 5 folk around each of 4 sick beds ... ''

'' ... how bright to not only invest in trillion dollar baby raping warfare to save one''s own babys, but then to admit it to the masses whos babys got raped in the trillion dollar baby raping warfare ... ''

'' ... full disclosure is not an issue, unless there is an absence of marketshare where and when full disclosure becomes quite the putrid eyesore ... ''

[ericmichael1]

Excuse me, but if Musharraf isn''t giving the nukes to democratically elected officials, what makes this august body think that he will hand them over to al Qaida or the Taliban?

He may be calling it an emergency, but that doesn''t mean there is really one.

Eric

[flipantflaw]

'' ... blue blue first aid on the trail blue blue inkblot sport and puzzle on the trail blue blue sellart basketball on the trail blue blue zero resistance tai chi aikido yogaerobic on the trail blue blue subsistance blooms on the trail blue blue ... ''

[flipantflaw]

'' ... maybe gods do not invest so much in wars and laws and disciplines that rape small babies and small children because they do not love them, maybe they do it because they do love them: that is to say, if most folk most time experience the infinite bliss of eternity where all their wishes come true, then maybe mortal suffering is a rarest paradise for those that live in paradise, a chance not to have all ones wishes come true ... and from a earthly perspective: who deserves most the best: small babies and small children ... hence kids are 99 percent more likely to suffer injury or death by discipline and are 99 percent more likely to be disciplined ... ''

'' ... the only environmental awareness what matters is the kind policed by multi trillion dollar baby raping war mongets ... ''

'' ... how come is it every so-called great civilation ever saved all the girls by raping more girls by investing more money in baby raping warfare than most of the enemys past and present combined ... ''

[frankly6]

Why did Bu$h allow Bin Laden to escape and live freely in Pakistan while he builds his terror network?

[ntarc]

With increasing instability and al Qaeda poised to seize any opportunity, the risk of nuclear devices and other sophisticated weapons falling into terrorist hands is a very real possibility. One can safely assume that negotiating with al Qaeda or any other rouge elements inside Pakistan, should they actually acquire any such weapons, would prove fruitless.

The United States must be prepared to act and act quickly. The question then becomes how and when do we respond. Allowing al Qaeda to get their hands on nuclear weapons is simply not an option.