About the Author

Richard Cochrane is trained in chemistry and metallurgy but is far more interested and practiced as a political and fund raising consultant, writer and amateur historian. He grew up in a Navy family and with his two younger brothers carried on its 500+ year tradition of naval service to Great Britain and the USA then enjoyed a career with one of the largest advertising and public relations agencies working with numerous Fortune 500 companies and many of America's premier educational institutions. He maintains friendships and acquaintanceships around the world. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

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BHUTTO ASSASINATION

December 28th, 2007 • Richard Cochrane

Jihadists Muslim radicals – including the Taliban and al Qaeda — have largely been responsible for rioting and terror attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere since former Prime Minister Bhutto’s assassination last Thursday. There is growing evidence too those radical elements murdered her while they try to blame President Musharraf. Their goal is to destabilize Pakistan and leave open the possibility of a radical Islamic regime with nuclear weapons. Pakistan is believed to have about thirty nuclear warheads. The U. S. has spent about $100 million to help Pakistan secure its nuclear arsenal which President Musharraf has accepted and even welcomed. Admittedly Musharaff has been duplicitous in his “war” against terror choosing to create a sanctuary for the Taliban and al Qaeda in a northwest Pakistan. It took more than a year of negotiating capped by a personal call from Secretary of State Rice to arrange for Bhutto’s return on October 16th.Bhutto’s death, as head of Pakistan’s largest moderate political party, leaves open election of more radical elements. The gravest threat is infiltration by Taliban and al Qaeda agents especially if they have support from within the military by similarly motivated Muslims and/or those who have been bought. For now I am not immediately concerned about useful Pakistani nukes falling into terrorists hands. As I have reported before Pakistan may be using the U. S. devised PAL (Permissive Action Link) system that disables its nuclear weapons. It is an encoded sequence requiring redundant participants with knowledge of complicated, exact and sequential steps. PAL is built deep into the weapons and is not just a “padlock” added onto it. That geometrically complicates using the weapons and under certain circumstances allows the weapon to be permanently rendered useless.

Bypassing a PAL is, as one weapons designer graphically put it, is about as complex as performing a tonsillectomy while entering the patient from the wrong end.”

Whether or not U. S. nuclear weapons experts are now in or are invited into and deployed to Pakistan to help it safeguard its nuclear stockpile is not known and in any case would be top secret lest someone in the U. S. Congress or State Department leak the fact if not the weapons’ actual locations. The situation is in tatters and there are wide ranging discussion from spiriting the weapons out of Pakistan to destroying them in place with or without Pakistan’s help.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, described as an “Islamic extremist” and “the father of Pakistan’s nuclear program,” in 2004 admitted that he had sold nuclear technology to a number of foreign countries, including North Korea and Libya, and is known to have collaborated with al Qaeda. A. Q. Khan, though not arrested has had “strict security restrictions imposed on him” according to a Pakistan foreign affairs official. He is believed to be under a constant and relentless guard.Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) was the last member of arguably Pakistan’s most powerful political family. At 16 she entered Harvard’s Radcliffe College. After completing her undergraduate degree at Radcliffe she studied at England’s Oxford University. Her father was elected Prime Minister but arrested in a coup in 1977 and later hanged. Her two brothers were assassinated. She was forced into exile in 1996 amid corruption charges and a reelection bid in 1997 failed. She lived in exile In London since then. Bhutto was perhaps the best chance to sustain a pro-U.S. government, and even Musharraf’s best chance to maintain stability.

It is a common myth that the word assassin comes from the Arabic word haschishin for hashish user. Originally they were most likely non-Arabic speaking Persians (mostly today’s Iranians) sect inside Shi’i Islam, more specifically the Nizari Isma’ilis, in the period from the 11th to the 13th century. Most significantly, the Assassins are famous for their fearless and mindless murders especially during the times of the Crusades. Their terrorism became a religious duty executed with the promise of salvation and martyrdom. Their original base was the fortress at Alamut on the Caspian Sea.

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