30 October 2001
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=01103001.nlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
30 October 2001
(Nuclear safety is part of U.S. dialogue with Pakistan, India) (450) State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the U.S. government is confident that the Pakistani government under President Pervez Musharraf is taking steps necessary to secure the safety of its nuclear weapons. Briefing reporters at the State Department in Washington October 29, Boucher made that comment in connection to a question about a report alleging that U.S. and Israeli military units are training together to eliminate Pakistan's nuclear weapons in case the present Pakistani government is destabilized. Boucher said nuclear safety is an important element of U.S. discussions with Pakistan and India. Following is an excerpt from the transcript of Boucher's October 29 briefing containing his comment about Pakistan's protection of its nuclear weapons: (begin excerpt) QUESTION: Yes, there is a report by FPN, I believe, by some other news agencies based on an article in the current issue of The New Yorker by Seymour Hersh, which claims that special US and Israeli units are training together to take out Pakistan's nuclear weapons in case the present government is destabilized. Is there such a plan of action? Is there any truth to this report? MR. BOUCHER: I am afraid there is a limit to how much I could go into anything that would involve intelligence or military planning. There are a couple things I can tell you, though. First of all, we have good working relationships with the Musharraf Government. We expect those to continue in the weeks and months ahead. We believe Pakistan is well aware of the importance of securing any nuclear material, components and weapons that it has. We are confident that Pakistan is taking steps to assure the safety of these assets. And we would just say that the current situation requires that all states pay attention to such concern. We have had general discussions with India and Pakistan on issues related to nuclear safety over the years and such discussions will remain part of our dialogue on security issues. QUESTION: So it is not being denied or affirmed, this -- MR. BOUCHER: First of all, I wouldn't -- I can't confirm or deny any military operation or plan. I am at the State Department, and we don't do that stuff on operational military issues. So any question you ask, however wild and speculative it might be, I am just not in a position to deny it from here. But I'd tell you that we do work with the Musharraf Government very well. We do discuss with them and with the Indians questions of nuclear safety and we expect to continue our cooperation with them in the future. (end excerpt) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)