Better Relations, Less Conflict.

     The article How Nations Risk Nuclear Terrorism is an article by Richard J. Chasdi is an article about the nuclear dangers that we now face. Many nations in the middle east are gaining nuclear power. This article specifically focuses in the nuclear unrest in the country of Pakistan. It initially focuses on the Pakistani government's use of proxies, or independently run organization that is paid buy government to carry out tasks that government would not normally be able to do. The main idea of this article is that we must reduce the power of proxy groups, and to do this, we must also be in better relation to the country of Pakistan.
     In this article, one of the things the author is trying to say is that the United States must lessen the use of proxy organizations by middle eastern governments. He says that proxies can create a bigger danger than the countries themselves. He says that the use of proxy groups "looms the possible catastrophe of nuclear weapons in the wrong hands." He also brings up an example of a proxy group, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba ("Army of the Righteous"), that carried out attacks by Mumbai terrorists in 2008. The author also says that "Ending or reducing the use of....proxy groups has real potential to reduce the availability of [nuclear] materials to terrorists." All in all, the author thinks that the United States should try to stop proxy groups because they are very dangerous.
     In this article, the author is also trying to say that we must be in better relations with Pakistan in order to be able to stop proxy use. An example of this is when the author says "We should take a page out of the conflict resolution literature playbook and use bargaining techniques that seek to isolate and identify motivations behind Pakistan's position on the use of proxy groups." Conflict resolution means solving problems rationally and effectively, while treating your partner in the conflict as an equal. In this quote, the author is trying to say that we should have a civil meeting with Pakistan to discuss proxy groups, we should not attack them for it. The U.S.A and Pakistan also do share a common hatred: the Taliban. The author says that we could gain Pakistani support by discussing the Taliban. So in the end, the author thinks that to possibly end the use of proxy groups, we must gain support from Pakistan.
     In conclusion, the main idea of this article is that we must reduce the power of proxy groups, and to do this, we must also be in better relation to the country of Pakistan. From what I can tell, I agree with the author. I don't have that much knowledge on the subject, but I do think at least one thing. I believe that conflict should be avoided as much as possible.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/26/opinion/chasdi-nuclear-terrorism-risk/index.html?hpt=op_bn5
Article from CNN.com^^^^^^^^