John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer who worked for the agency for 15 years and was in charge of counterterrorism operations in Pakistan, gave a shocking interview in which he talked about the ongoing antagonism between India and Pakistan. Kiriakou stressed that Islamabad needs to make a policy decision that war with India is pointless, since Pakistan is sure to lose in a traditional war.
The former CIA official was very clear when he spoke to media. “Nothing, absolutely nothing good will come from a real war between India and Pakistan because the Pakistanis will lose. That’s all there is to it. They will lose. And I’m not talking about nuclear weapons; I’m only talking about a regular battle. And therefore there is no point in always making Indians angry.”
Unofficial Claim: The US Controls Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons
Kiriakou then made a big, unauthorized statement about Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent. He said that while he was stationed in Pakistan in 2002, he was told that the Pentagon was in charge of the country’s nuclear weapons.
He made it clear that this information was not public and that he didn’t think the US ever told India. “I don’t think the US ever told India that they also control Pakistani nuclear weapons because the Pakistanis have been very vocal about saying they control their own nuclear weapons,” Kiriakou said.
India’s Strong Stand Against Nuclear Blackmail
The former CIA official also talked about how New Delhi’s stance to cross-border terrorism is changing. He pointed out that India has made it plain that it “will not tolerate Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail” and will respond strongly to any terror strike.
Kiriakou said that India’s robust military operations in the last few years show that they are now determined to stop terrorist assaults in Jammu and Kashmir. These actions include the 2016 surgical strikes on terrorist launchpads along the Line of Control (LoC), the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, and the more recent Operation Sindoor, which successfully attacked terrorist infrastructure.
The A.Q. Khan Story and Saudi Arabia’s Role
Kiriakou worked on counterterrorism during his time in office. A colleague worked on the case of Abdul Qadeer Khan (A.Q. Khan), the Pakistani nuclear physicist who was known for his work on the nuclear weapons program.
Kiriakou said that the US could have killed Khan if it had taken a “Israeli approach.” He did say, though, that this option was thwarted because Khan had the strong backing of the Saudi government, who stepped in and told him to “leave him alone.”
The Career of the Whistleblower
Kiriakou worked for the CIA for 15 years, including both intelligence analysis and counterterrorism work. He is also known as a well-known whistleblower. In a nationally aired appearance in 2007, Kiriakou was the first former CIA officer to publicly reveal the agency’s torture program. This led to legal accusations against him, which were eventually dropped.