Khan's nuclear network remains operative

All eyes are set on Iran, which is trying to dupe the Europeans and carry on with its plans to produce nuclear weapons, but the truth is that the more immediate threat for the acceleration of nuclear proliferation can be found nearby, in Pakistan.

An interesting article explores Pakistan's immunity

The author suggests that A. Q. Khan's clandestine nuclear flea market still operates ('John Bolton, US under secretary for arms control and international security, said recently that the ring continues to have unknown clients, and that this affair "involves a lot more than that which we are permitted to discuss openly."'), and, further, that this criminal enterprise which counts Iran, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Algeria, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, North Korea and Burma among its clients, poses a greater immediate threat than Iran's nuclear program.

The American government's handling of this case is described as misguided, and the author calls into question the ability of both American and Israeli intelligence to thwart further proliferation while the Khan network is not taken seriously.

It doesn't sound like the US is ignoring this man; it appears that he is being protected by Musharaf.

But he has to come up to breathe sometime...

Originally posted by jsobecky
It doesn't sound like the US is ignoring this man; it appears that he is being protected by Musharaf.

But he has to come up to breathe sometime...

This is the idea expressed in the article,

The immunity enjoyed by Khan is rooted in the dependency that the Bush administration has developed in the form of Pakistan's president, who has been an important ally in the war the Americans are waging against international terrorism, and especially the hunt for Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan.

But it seems to be more a question of the U.S.'s priorities in the region. Pakistani assistance in hunting down Al Queda has not given results. Leverage would apparently be better applied to this issue.

This just in:

Nuke trader gave boost to ME state

Days after former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy expressed fears that Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia might have acquired some kind of nuclear capability via an illicit weapons trafficking network run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the chief architect of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, Israeli military sources have told The Jerusalem Post that, thanks to Khan, one of those three Arab states now has the potential to achieve a "significant nuclear leap."

...

In an interview with the Post last week, former Mossad chief and national security adviser Halevy spoke of his concerns, which he stressed did not derive from any recent access to classified material, that Syria, Saudi Arabia and Egypt might have acquired nuclear parts from Khan

So, no recent developments, but new voices bringing attention to the exact same issue that I hold merits much greater attention from the world.

Edit: A related article: 'Syria, Egypt may have nuke parts'

Iran already considers Saudi Arabia a nuclear state


[edit on 4-1-2005 by HeirToBokassa]