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Pakistan's Dr. Doom ( rogue scientist A.Q. Khan )
Los Angeles Times ^ | December 2, 2007 | Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins

Posted on 12/05/2007 10:04:45 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Not long ago, a respected and sober-minded expert on nuclear weapons -- a former government official now employed by a prestigious Washington think tank -- sat in his corner office and reflected for us on the nightmare brought to life by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani nuclear scientist.

"The best thing would have been to take Khan into an alley somewhere and put a bullet in his head," said the expert, who not surprisingly insisted that his name not be attached to such an outrageous suggestion.

Although we would not advocate assassination, it is certainly true that the world is a far more dangerous place because of the nuclear Wal-Mart that Khan established, and that the worst of his actions have yet to play out. Khan's fingerprints are all over the world's most dangerous nuclear threats, from the potentially unstable atomic arsenal in his chaotic home country to the prospect of another reckless Middle Eastern war ignited by Iran's nuclear ambitions.

A European-trained metallurgist (who had fled to Pakistan from India as a boy), Khan became a national hero in the 1990s when he helped Pakistan build its first nuclear weapon. Today, at 71, he remains a revered figure in many quarters despite having admitted that he sold the country's prized nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

In recent weeks, international attention has been focused on the political crisis in Pakistan and whether the military there could lose control of the nukes that Khan helped develop -- estimated at between 50 and 120 devices -- if the political situation were to spiral out of control or if radical Islamists were to take over.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: aqkhan; iran; irannukes; nukes; pakistan; qadeerkhan
But we believe the bigger threat today comes from Iran, where the country's leaders are forging defiantly ahead toward the bomb -- even as the Bush administration seems equally relentless in its determination to stop them. This is a recipe for a global confrontation that could make the Iraq war seem tame by comparison, and it has gotten to this point thanks to A.Q. Khan.
1 posted on 12/05/2007 10:04:47 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

AQ Khan is no longer in the direct equation for Iran. The North Koreans have probably given all of their research material.

I wondering why more hasn’t been made out of the assault of the secured nuclear facility in South Africa. Who was involved and why?


2 posted on 12/05/2007 10:11:50 AM PST by Perdogg (Elections have consequences)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

I don’t see why he hasn’t been shot. I watched an HBO movie about Gerard Bull who was building the Babylon “super gun” for Saddam Husein and he met an untimely end by bullet most likely from the Mossad. And that was just over an artillery piece, not a frickin nuclear bomb.


3 posted on 12/05/2007 10:16:43 AM PST by rednesss (Fred Thompson - 2008)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
They could have put a bullet in Hitler's head, too, since a good many people could clearly see where he was going, but we didn't do it.

Khan will ultimately be responsible for the deaths of millions, but again, the world chooses to do nothing and wait.
4 posted on 12/05/2007 10:20:12 AM PST by reagan_fanatic (Ron Paul put the cuckoo in my Cocoa Puffs)
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To: rednesss
I don’t see why he hasn’t been shot. I watched an HBO movie about Gerard Bull who was building the Babylon “super gun” for Saddam Husein and he met an untimely end by bullet most likely from the Mossad. And that was just over an artillery piece, not a frickin nuclear bomb.

The Israelis are slacking off, that's why. No one else would do something like that to protect their country, not in this day and age of mass pu$$ification (see Kim DuToit's blog for more on this phenomenon).

This guy may have given away/sold everthing he knows simply to avoid getting a case of instantaneous fatal lead poisoning - there's not much point, after all, if the info is already in the wrong hands. Of course, if an Islamic bomb ever goes off somewhere, I wouldn't want to be this guy's life insurance company when the survivors started asking questions.

5 posted on 12/05/2007 10:29:47 AM PST by Ancesthntr
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To: rednesss

Bull was a free-agent of sorts. He had no official backing from any government other than Iraq. Hitting A Q Khan, even if it were possible, would be a whole different thing.


6 posted on 12/05/2007 11:41:37 AM PST by Tallguy (Climate is what you plan for, weather is what you get.)
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To: Grimmy; RedStateRocker; gonzo; DeaconBenjamin; indcons; sukhoi-30mki; Eyes Unclouded; ECM; ...

Pakistan ۋﮧ۱م

FReepmail if you want on or off

7 posted on 12/05/2007 1:10:05 PM PST by G8 Diplomat (Creatures are divided into 6 kingdoms: Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Monera, Protista, & Saudi Arabia)
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To: G8 Diplomat; Matchett-PI
Thanks, G8! And Jan, this one's for you: http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/essays/41/

You'll like this guy ................................. FRegards

8 posted on 12/05/2007 2:57:10 PM PST by gonzo (http://www.forsalebyowner.com/listing/63472)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Fred Nerks; KlueLass; ...

Have a great day, all. Thanks E.

Bush Drops Military Option, Tehran Slams Door on Diplomacy
Debka | December 3, 2007, 11:03 PM (GMT+02:00)
Posted on 12/03/2007 7:34:31 PM EST by Perdogg
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1934211/posts


9 posted on 12/07/2007 11:39:46 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Profile updated Friday, December 7, 2007_____________________https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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