DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - IRAN/PAKISTAN: WORRY ABOUT IRAN, BUT WORRY MORE ABOUT PAKISTAN

Forget Iran
By Gregory Scoblete

While the 2008 presidential candidates are busy fielding questions about how they would confront Iran's nuclear ambitions, few seem interested in addressing a much more pressing issue: Pakistan.

It's understandable, of course. Pakistan is an infinitely more difficult challenge for a would-be president to tackle. Unlike Iran - which can be "bombed," "contained," "deterred," or "ignored" - Pakistan does not lend itself to sound bite solutions. It's much easier for candidates to simply ignore our ostensible ally and hope to pass through the campaign without being called on it. But events will almost certainly conspire to deny us the luxury of living in denial for very long.

The truth is Pakistan represents a far greater danger to the U.S. than Iran, at least for the foreseeable future. Let us count the ways. Pakistan is a nuclear power. Iran is not. Pakistan has a proven track record of proliferation, including a dalliance with al Qaeda. It was Pakistani nuclear scientists, after all, who met with bin Laden. Indeed, it was a Pakistani scientist, A. Q. Khan, whose black-market network significantly expanded the reach of nuclear equipment and know-how. Meanwhile, Iranian scientists are still laboring to master the basic elements of the nuclear fuel cycle (though progress continues).

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Pertinent Links:

1) Forget Iran