Global Issues: Terrorism & WMD ~ Wikileaks, Terrorism and Nuclear Proliferation

The current Wikileaks revelations which are causing waves and ruffled diplomatic feathers across the international community have thrown up the odd bit with clear relevance to the Global Issues paper, and in particular the topics of Terrorism and WMD.

The Guardian has two stories which highlight these topics:

1. WikiLeaks cables expose Pakistan nuclear fears - US and UK diplomats warn of terrorists getting hold of fissile material and of Pakistan-India nuclear exchange: “American and British diplomats fear Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme could lead to fissile material falling into the hands of terrorists or a devastating nuclear exchange with India. The latest cache of US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks contains warnings that Pakistan is rapidly building its nuclear stockpile despite the country’s growing instability and “pending economic catastrophe”.

1. WikiLeaks cables: ‘US aid will not stop Pakistan supporting militants’ - Embassy cables reveal US frustration as Islamabad fosters selected insurgents as a buffer against India:

“Pakistan’s army is covertly sponsoring four major militant groups, including the Afghan Taliban and Mumbai attackers Lashkar-e-Taiba, and “no amount of money” will change the policy, the US ambassador warned in a frank critique revealed by the state department cables…”