I'M SO RELIEVED, NOT - AT 5:01 P.M. ET:  We are once again assured that Pakistan's nuclear weapons are safe:

LONDON - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday the Taliban siege of Pakistan's army headquarters showed extremists are a growing threat in the nuclear-armed American ally, but she contended they don't pose a risk to the country's atomic arsenal.

Clinton, in London on the second leg of a five-day tour of Europe and Russia, also joined British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in warning Iran that they would not wait long for the Islamic republic to convince the world that its nuclear intentions are peaceful.

COMMENT:  All these assurances about the safety of Pakistani nukes remind me of those comments you see on TV after people find out that a neighbor has been charged with murder:  "Gee, he's such a nice guy." 

A killer isn't a killer until he kills.  And nukes aren't in terrorist hands until they are. 

And I am far from reassured.  Pakistan is in turmoil.  The nukes are reportedly stored in one of the most unstable areas.  What are these reassurances based on?

October 11, 2009