Many military intelligence agencies and think tanks are beginning to believe that there is a serious danger of Pakistan disintegrating into fiefdoms controlled by warlords and Pakistan Taliban. A Pakistan crash into warlord-run fiefdoms that would host Al Qaeda and the Pak Taliban strongholds, would have grave consequences for the security of the Pak nuclear stockpiles.
Pakistan has over 173,000,000 million people and around 100 nuclear weapons. Add to this that they have a large army but riddled with Islamic extremist and as much as two thirds of the country the government cannot control.
The devastating floods are reported to have disrupted the lives of 14 million people. Many are without water, food and shelter. One estimate says that many are living in the open.
Going by numbers the news media is reporting that this disaster is worse than the Indian Ocean tsunami and the Haiti earthquake combined. There is no accurate count of the dead and missing. Unfortunately, international aid is coming slower than usual.
The U.S. has responded with at least $70 million and Great Britain is second with $32 million. Additionally, the U.S. has sent helicopters which are dropping food and water and evacuating those in need. There are reports that the Pak Taliban controlled areas are providing better assistance than the Pak government.
Pakistan is suffering from a number of natural and man-made disasters over the last five years. Add to this the Islamic insurgency against the government, the Afghanistan Taliban and bad economic mismanagement and you have a recipe for a larger disaster – nuclear weapons in the hands of extremist.
