Pakistani scientists, Osama planned nuclear strikes against the US

In an attempt to carry out nuclear strikes against the US, Pakistani nuclear scientists had met Osama bin Laden barely two months after the September 11 terrorist attacks thus confirming concerns of Pakistan's nukes falling into the hands of the jihadis, says a media report.

"At least six Pakistani scientists including Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, a leading nuclear scientist, met September 11 mastermind Osama and his close aide Ayman Zawahiri along with Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in Kabul in November 2001 to plan a possbile nuclear attack on the US," the Pakistan based South Asia Tribune reported.

During interrogation by US officials, Bashiruddin Mahmood admitted to having discussed nuclear technology with Osama but did not acknowledge passing nuclear secrets to him.

He repeatedly failed lie detector tests raising doubts about the information that was exchanged between the two.

However, Islamabad has maintained that Mahmood and his colleague Abdul Majid did not possess knowledge about creating a nuclear weapon.

Bashiruddin Mahmood has held the senior most position at the Pakistani Atomic Energy Commission and is one of the founder members of the country's nuclear programme.

He was also involved in the development of the Kahuta nuclear plant, where uranium is enriched for Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. He has also worked with Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme.

Both Mahmood and Majid are hardliners and have attended the annual conference of the Markaz-ul-Dawa-il-Irshad, the parent organisation of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, along with former ISI chiefs Hamid Gul and Mahmood Ahmed.

The two scientists had formed a charitable organisation that supported construction projects in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Suspicions about links between Pakistan's nuclear establishment and Al Qaeda and the role of Islamabad in hiding these links were also fuelled when two other Pakistani nuclear scientists, Suleiman Asad and Mohammad Ali Mukhtar, went to Myanmar.

Pakistan sent the two scientists to Myanmar shortly after September 11 attacks. They were on the list of nuclear scientists wanted for interrogation by the US officials and Gen Musharraf had personally asked the Myanmar government to grant them asylum.

After the September 11 attacks there was considerable concern about the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

There were reports that the nuclear arsenal had been dispersed to multiple locations after the WTC attack. The Musharraf government was quick to dismiss concerns about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

Potential dangers to Pakistan's nuclear assets include loss of control over nuclear technology, weapons, weapon components and fissile materials. The biggest threat is from the terrorists and their sympathisers within Pakistan's military and nuclear establishments.

In addition, a coup could instantly transfer control of the nuclear arsenal to a new regime.

From Rohan Gunaranta's "Inside Al-Qaeda":

"The Islamic Party (Mahaz-e-Islami) of Myanmar is thought to have connections with al-Qaeda, and through Harakat ul-Mujahideen, an associate group of the latter, Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have joined al-Qaeda. As many as 200,000 Muslim Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh in 1992 after suffering persecution for their beliefs from the authorities. Their living conditions are poor and they are therefore vulnerable to recruitment by Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda. Although Mahaz-e-Islami has only a small presence inside Myanmar, it has a significant following in Pakistan and Afghanistan; in Pakistan it is led by Nour Alem and Abdul Halim. The group also fought with the Taliban and al-Qaeda against the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan with the intention of gaining combat experience before returning to Myanmar. Along with other compatriots, Abdullah Yunus was captured in Daresh Suf on June 8, 1999. He said that if pardoned and released, he would "continue his Islamic political studies and military training and the return to his country and try to free it and implement sha'riah."

"Indian intelligence reported that two Pakistani nuclear scientists under investigation by the US for their links with al-Qaeda arrived in Myanmar in early November 2001. This may be linked to Pakistan's interest in protecting its scientists working on strategic weapons development programs from being interviewed by foreigners, especially US federal agents."

So it looks as though there is at least some al-Qaeda activity there through Mahaz-e-Islami. I also recall that one of the tapes CNN found last summer had footage of an al-Qaeda training camp in Burma from 1990, so it seems as though the group has been active there for sometime. And given the type of country that Myanmar is, it'd sure be a great place to hide something you didn't want found.

Incidentally, wasn't Ayman al-Zawahiri reported in Bangladesh last September? That's right on the border with Myanmar. It'd been interesting to see whether or not he was checking up on something.

Buy mem a box of Q-Tips and a round-trip ticket to Tora Bora and I'll go scape-off the proof of Osama's demise from the rocks within a quarter-mile radius from where the O-Man took delivery of a USAF smart bomb! Then we can compare the char-broiled DNA matter to that which the CIA has collected from the above cited location {official verification of which will be announced as soon as it is strategically useful to do so}.

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