28 September 2004	Tuesday	12 Shaban 1425

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 27: US Senate candidate Barack Obama says that if President Pervez Musharraf loses power in a coup, the United States may consider military strikes to destroy Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

In an interview published in the Chicago Tribune, the Democratic Party's Senate candidate said he believed that Islamic extremist elements might take over if President Musharraf was overthrown, adding that in such a situation, America would have to consider going in and taking nuclear bombs out.

Referring to Iran's recent announcement about converting tons of uranium into gas, a crucial step in making fuel for a nuclear reactor or a nuclear bomb, Mr Obama said that the United States should first address Iran's attempts to gain nuclear capabilities by going before the UN Security Council and lobbying the international community to apply more pressure on Iran to cease nuclear activities. But if those measures fell short, the US should not rule out military strikes to destroy nuclear production sites in Iran, Mr Obama said.