During one of the presidential debates, Bush bragged, "We busted the A.Q. Khan network. This was a proliferator out of Pakistan that was selling secrets to places like North Korea and Libya."
In Bush busts the A.Q. Khan network (10/01/04), I talked about why that claim was somewhat overblown.
In a recent article on the Iranian nuclear program (Countdown to showdown Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Nov/Dec 2004), David Albright and Cory Henderson wrote:
The [IAEA] inspectors [working on Iran] need more cooperation from Pakistan. Although it is providing information and sampling data, it still refuses to allow the IAEA to question A. Q. Khan or take its own samples in Pakistan. Without this type of access, the IAEA might not be able to finish its assessments of Iran's nuclear program and declaration.
It appears that such cooperation is still less than forthcoming: Musharraf: Bin Laden's Location Is Unknown by Robin Wright and Peter Baker Washington Post 12/05/04. The headlined portion of the story reinforces what we have already seen, that our loyal ally Pakistan doesn't seem to be entirely enthusiastic about catching Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network, even though Musharraf has clearly taken on huge risks in going after them to the extent his government has, while still relying on Islamist religious parties for domestic political support.
But, in yet another reminder why it's a good idea to look beyong the first couple of paragraphs of news articles, Wright and Baker also report the following. The areas that I have emphasized are an example of how diligently the Bush administration is focusing on the nuclear proliferation threat:
The Bush administration played down any tension over continuing efforts by U.S. investigators to learn more about the black market nuclear technology network run by Pakistan's premier scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan. U.S. officials believe Khan has not been fully candid in disclosing the scope of his help to nations such as Libya seeking to develop nuclear bombs. But Pakistan has refused to allow U.S. or International Atomic Energy Agency investigators to interrogate Khan, who was pardoned by Musharraf and remains in Pakistan under what officials call house arrest.
During their closed meeting, attended by Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, outgoing Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and his designated successor, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Bush talked with Musharraf about obtaining more information from Khan but did not ask for direct access, according to a senior administration official.
The official, who briefed reporters afterward on the condition that he not be identified, said the United States has already "obtained a treasure trove of information" from Pakistan about Khan's network but added that "we need to go back and make sure we've gotten every nook and cranny." Musharraf, he said, promised "that he was going to take this on when he got back to Islamabad and make sure that the information that is available is fully shared."
During the Post interview, Musharraf ruled out granting any outsiders access to Khan because it would ignite anger among a public that has long revered Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb. "It's a very sensitive issue inside Pakistan," he said. "The man has been a hero for the masses." In addition, Musharraf said he considers any such request a personal affront. "It shows a lack of trust."
Just to repeat, Bush the Mighty Hammer of Righteousness met with the head of Pakistan's government, as did Dark Lord Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Condi-Condi. And they didn't even ask for direct access to the man who is probably individually responsible for more of present-day nuclear proliferation than anyone else. And who might have critical information on the Iranian nuclear program. (And it's also worth noting again what Musharraf said of Khan, "The man has been a hero for the masses.")
Yes, that's your Republican Values crowd at work, defending America from The Terrorists. Oh, and, "We busted the A.Q. Khan network," of course.
Global Nuclear Inquiry Stalls by William C. Rempel and Douglas Frantz Los Angeles Times 12/05/04. They report on the AQ Khan network: "International authorities [on nuclear proliferation] fear thefull scope of the Pakistani scientist's ring may never be known."
Pakistan has not permitted investigators to interview Khan, and his closest confidant is being held in Malaysia under that country's restrictive security act. Investigators also are concerned about the level of cooperation of former Soviet republics and China.
Investigators have suffered setbacks and delays even as they have gathered new evidence of the network's sophistication and have documented its move into Dubai, an ancient smuggling port on the Persian Gulf. Dubai was the hub of Khan's covert distribution operation, a transportation and storage base for parts and machinery destined for the secret nuclear programs in Iran and Libya, shipping records and investigation files show.
The Khan ring used nondescript warehouses scattered throughout Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to store and repackage some of the equipment, as well as to complete small-scale manufacturing assignments, according to documents and photos shown to The Times.
And which countries are actively pursuing efforts to bust this nuclear-proliferation network - oh, excuse me, we already busted it, so I guess we have to call it "further busting," or maybe "clearing out the remnants" or going after "desperate elements"?
A handful of arrests have been made in Germany, Switzerland and South Africa. Law enforcement authorities also are investigating people in several other countries, including Britain, France and Spain.
Not everyone is eager for full disclosure, however.
Amid speculation that Khan may have operated with the knowledge or assistance of other high-ranking military officials in Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf pardoned Khan early this year and has refused to permit investigators from the IAEA or the United States to interview the scientist.
"Old Europe" is going after the proliferators. Our loyal ally Pakistan is blocking the investigation. Oh, and they've lost track of Bin Laden, they say. And they're not really reducing troops inthe area of Pakistan where Al Qaeda forces are likely to be concentrated, they're just being "relocated." (See the Wright/Baker article.) That reminds me of a picture I saw in a joke book in high school. It was a famous painting of Napolean retreating from Russia. Dialogue balloons were added with one of the men asking Napolean, "Are we retreating from Moscow, mon General?" To which Napolean replies, "No, we are advancing on Paris, mon Idiot."
But I digress.
The Times article also notes that Malaysia is blocking access to Khan's associate Buhary Syed abu Tahir. You really have to wonder what's going on with this. Supposedly, everyone agrees that the proliferation of nuclear weapons is the leading security threat in the world, largely because of the danger that a terrorist group not operating under the constraints of a ruling government could get one and use it. Yet the Bush administration seems to be willing to accept that two supposedly allied governments are refusing access to key figures in the worst known proliferation network.
We're torturing schmucks in Guantanamo who had the bad luck to get swept up in the US operation in Afghanistan, very few if any of them having any actionable intelligence about Al Qaeda, much less nuclear proliferation. But the head of Pakistan's government meets with Bush, Cheney, Powell and Rice and they don't even ask for direct access to the man who supposedly was the key figure in the network. Something reeks about this.
But we're gearing up to go to war with Iran, because they have this really, really, really dangerous, terrible, awful nuclear program that we have to confront urgently and unless their government steps down and asks the US to get some exiles to set up a pro-American government in Tehran, we'll probably have to invade them and shoot, bomb and torture them into accepting the blessings of democracy like we're doing in Iraq. Oh, and get their WMDs and stuff, of course. Here we go again.
I also posted back in August about some emerging news on the AQ Khan proliferation connections: New developments on the Khan leak 08/14/04.
Here are some additional articles on the topic:
"We can do it ourselves"by Simon Henderson Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Sept 1993; an interview with Khan.
India, Pakistan and the Bomb by M. V. Ramana and A. H. Nayyar Scientific American 12/19/04
Secrets, What Secrets? by David Albright Scientific American 12/19/04
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