One other observation — one that I don’t think I’ve seen elsewhere.  Twice in the speech, Obama talked about the danger of nuclear weapons.  The first was during his arguments on why this is a necessary war:

The people and governments of both Afghanistan and Pakistan are endangered. And the stakes are even higher within a nuclear-armed Pakistan, because we know that al Qaeda and other extremists seek nuclear weapons, and we have every reason to believe that they would use them.

The second was toward the end, when he made a brief reference to his campaign to reduce the world’s stockpile of nuclear weapons:

We will have to take away the tools of mass destruction. That is why I have made it a central pillar of my foreign policy to secure loose nuclear materials from terrorists; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to pursue the goal of a world without them. Because every nation must understand that true security will never come from an endless race for ever-more destructive weapons — true security will come for those who reject them.

You can bet that our friends in Islamabad heard the implied message here:  we will not let your nukes fall into the hands of extremists, and if I have my way, we will do everything we can to ensure that you don’t get to keep your nukes no matter who is in charge.

The Pakistani military is, I’m sure, really really unhappy about this.  Keep in mind that they view everything through the lens of what they see as India’s existential threat to Pakistan.  They already regard U.S. policy in Afghanistan as nothing less than a covert attempt to help India encircle Pakistan (really — I’m not making this up).  And now Obama has made it clear he’s going to do what he can to take away their toys.

This is not going to help the Zadari Administration, which already has lost all credibility with the military because of its close relationship with the U.S.

Photo:  US Department of Energy archives.

Related posts

• Transition Open Thread
• The Speech
• Pakistan: Mad Libs
• Obama’s Foreign Policy: Nothing Personal
• While You Were Watching the View. . .