A vicious circle

Sir, - The U.S. is justly agitated over the vicious attacks of September 11, but its reprisal against Afghanistan will only raise the level of viciousness. Now the U.S. (and the rest of the world) has been warned by the IAEA that there is a definite possibility of Pakistan's nuclear weapons being used by the Taliban. If it is true, since the Taliban does not have the delivery capability to use it against the U.S., and using it against Israel will affect the Palestinians, it will probably target India - its third declared enemy. If so, where will our return strike be directed - against Kabul or Islamabad? Does our nuke have any value at all in the present context?

The U.S. is the only country to have used the nuclear weapon in 1945, and at least two American Presidents have since contemplated its use. There is thus the even more worrying possibility of the U.S. deciding to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike in Afghanistan. An indication of this might be the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel of the Western countries from Islamabad and New Delhi.

Maj. Gen. S.G. Vombatkere (retd.),

Mysore

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