Are Pakistan's nukes vulnerable???

A scary thought....

Pakistan's nuclear facilities have come under attack from the Taliban and other groups and there is a "genuine" risk militants could seize weapons or bomb-making material, an article published in a West Point think tank newsletter said.

The Pentagon, seeking to bolster Pakistan's government in its fight against al Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban forces, expressed satisfaction with security at the facilities.

Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are "comfortable with the security measures the Pakistani government, the Pakistani military have in place to ensure that their nuclear arsenal is safeguarded," press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.

The Combating Terrorism Centre, which is housed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, published the article in the July edition of its "Sentinel" newsletter, copies of which were distributed widely on Tuesday.

The centre said the views expressed in the article were those of the author, and not those of West Point, the Army or the Defence Department.

Written by Shaun Gregory, director of the Pakistan Security Research Unit at the University of Bradford in Britain, the article detailed three attacks against Pakistan's nuclear facilities, and warned that sites in the country may be vulnerable to infiltration.

"The risk of the transfer of nuclear weapons, weapons components or nuclear expertise to terrorists in Pakistan is genuine," the article said.