Islamic Terrorists Again Strike At Pakistan's Nuclear Infrastructure

A suicide bomber struck at a facility linked to Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, killing seven people. That's in addition to another terror attack in Pakistan killing 17 aboard a bus that was heading to a wedding. Just yesterday, a Pakistani general was killed by a suicide bomber.

These attacks should be unsettling, and rightfully so.

Pakistan has a significant nuclear arsenal, and they are on the front lines against the Taliban and al Qaeda. The terrorists have again struck at the heart of Pakistan's nuclear program; this is the fourth time in the past three years that they have carried out successful attacks against sites linked to the Pakistani nuclear weapons program. The Karma Air Station where the latest attack occurred is where unassembled nuclear weapons are maintained, and can be assembled for use within hours.

The previous attacks include the following:

... an attack on the nuclear missile storage facility at Sargodha on November 1, 2007, an attack on Pakistan's nuclear airbase at Kamra by a suicide bomber on December 10, 2007, and perhaps most significantly the August 20, 2008 attack when Pakistani Taliban suicide bombers blew up several entry points to one of the armament complexes at the Wah cantonment, considered one of Pakistan's main nuclear weapons assembly.

All this news has been seriously underreported by the West, and the seriousness of the situation underscores the problems in Afghanistan as well. Al Qaeda and Taliban elements continue to operate largely with impunity from Pakistani territory inside the frontier provinces, and engage in attacks against Afghanistan regularly.

The Pakistani military has started making increasing efforts to go after the Taliban in South Waziristan and the Taliban claim that the latest attack was retribution for the continuing operations. The Pakistani military has to get a handle on the situation, if only to further secure their nuclear program from additional attacks.