Pakistan-Saudi trade nuke tech for oil

UPI ^ | Arnaud de Borchgrave

[blam]

"Old news. Pakistan obviously didn't have the bucks for nuclear program until the Saudis chipped in. I wonder how many nukes Saudi got in return and how long it will take for one to show up on our shores."

Yup. The Saudis funded "The Muslim Bomb" through the the old BCCI bank.

[GOP_1900AD]

What is known is that some components for the manufacture of warhead fissile material came from the PRC (most notably ring magnets). Also it is known that missile parts have been excanged across the pass from the PRC to Pakistan via truck. What remains a mystery is the extent to which the PRC provided actual technical aid. In point of fact, Pakistan has long sent its best and brightest overseas, to the US and UK to school (I have met a number of current examples). Due to the ill conceived and antiquated (ever since the collapse of the pro-US "northern tier" in earnest) "alliance" with Pakistan, Pakistani nationals have been allowed to hold jobs in places such as Lawrence Livermore Labs, among others. Not long after 9/11 the FBI arrested a Pakistani national who was working there for espionage. The case never made the lame stream media. I have no idea what was the outcome.

[GOP_1900AD]

Ping.

[tubavil]

Waiting much longer will put America and her allies at great peril. The jihadists' schemes and days must be brought to an end.

SLBM Bump.

[milestogo]

fas.org

Pakistan's dependence on China grew as Western export controls and enforcement mechanisms have grown more stringent. China's nuclear assistance predates the 1986 Sino-Pakistani atomic cooperation agreement, with some of the most critical transfers occurring from 1980 through 1985. China is reported to have provided Pakistan with the design of one of its warheads, as well as sufficient HEU for a few weapons. The 25-kiloton design was the one used in China's fourth nuclear test, which was an atmospheric test using a ballistic missile launch. This configuration is said to be a fairly sophisticated design, with each warhead weighing considerably less than the unwieldy, first-generation US and Soviet weapons which weighed several thousand kilograms. Pakistan Foreign Minister Yakub Khan was present at the Chinese Lop Nor test site to witness the test of a small nuclear device in May 1983, giving rise to speculation that a Pakistani-assembled device was detonated in this test.

Evidently, however, the jump-start provided by A.Q. Khan's trove of documents was an insufficient basis for a dependable Uranium program. Chinese assistance in the development of gas centrifuges at Kahuta was indicated by the presence of Chinese technicians at the facility in the early 1980s. The uranium enrichment facility began operating in the early 1980s, but suffered serious start up problems. In early 1996 it was reported that the A.Q. Khan Research Laboratory had received 5,000 ring magnets, which can be used in gas centrifuges, from a subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation.

[swarthyguy]

India should bomb this highway. And Osama's Jihadi Rejuvenation Center closeby.

[GOP_1900AD]

Thanks for the map!

[GOP_1900AD]

Wow, far worse than I realized... thanks. FAS has an extensive site, I'll never read it all!

[happygrl]

Speak for yourself SW; my undies are MadeinAmerica.

But you're right about the cloudsgatheringtippingpoint.

[dennisw]

Great info .... THanks

[atc]

The FAS link is good, more of the same here.

[dennisw]

Great link!!!

[Light Speed]

Israel bypassed first gen nukes and went straight into "Boosted Fission" devices.

By 1973..Israel was said to have 25+ nukes.

Pakistan makes claims after tests..tests which cannot be confirmed...which afford Pakistan spin room to make claims that they are masters of "Boosted Fission" weapons.

There are Hugo nukes...and their are *Cadillac nukes.

Israel has been playing with lazers to refine their core devices...doing this for decades.
Janes Intel and others can only guess at what Israels nuclear arsenal is..est at 400+ 1997.

Islamic nations have low yeild nukes..and can only offer each other..low yield nukes,...this set against Israels Arrow 2 and other intercept options.
Unless Islam can physically transport a nuke to Israel..say a container ship..they are not likley to get one over Israel.
They reliability of Islamic missiles is low...the distance abilities are low..the missile is limited in what it can loft as per warhead size.

It may seem like they are a threat..but they are not.,that is..unless thye can get one into Haifa on a container ship.
Cuz their not likely to fly one over..not even succeed via missile launch,...not from Sinai,Syria,or Saudiland.

To succeed..they would have to fire more than 10.
Israel would respond by sending them to oblivion.

Tents of Islam may crow.....but they would wet themselves in the Mosque if a nuke was really launched at Israel.

[GOP_1900AD]

A very interesting link. One thing remains a mystery. Although on the surface, one would imagine that Musharraf has had no dealings of any consequence with the Northern Alliance, after all, these were the bane of the Taliban, I have yet to see any explicit evidence that there have *not* been any such dealings. Being that he is a master of the psyop, I cannot rule out the possibility of an elaborate double game, perhaps inclusive of covert Kremlin ties. Especially in light of the alignment of Beijing and Moscow which has grown considerably since the early 1990s, and the overarching desires of both the PRC and Pakistan to encircle India, where does this lead to, vis a vis all assumptions regarding reputed Moscow - Islamabad enimity, and reputed Moscow - New Delhi friendship? At the end of such a game, lies marginalization and back stabbing of India (not to mention Japan, Israel, Japan, the UK and the US), and an alignment of Eurasian great powers which in coordination would pose a substantial force with which the world would have to reckon. Knowing the type of man Musharraf appears to be, I would myself bet on him always wanting to align with (and *to himself help to align*!) what would be thought of as "the winning team" in afront to so called "Western hegemony" (an illegitimate concept in fact but one which has great appeal for many in the developing world who have a chip on their shoulder).

[swarthyguy]

"Pakistan will deploy nuclear missiles and warheads at Saudi bases under military-nuclear accord signed in Islamabad by Crown prince Abdullah. DEBKAfile adds: Pakistani security umbrella will replace US troop presence withdrawn from kingdom this summer. Deal flatly defies Bush warning to Abdullah this year not to deploy nuclear weapons on Saudi soil."

Seems to fill in the blanks of DeBochgrave.

[RinaseaofDs]

Please add me to your ping list.

Many thanks.

[happygrl]

The times, they are a-changin'...

[joesnuffy]

Never give a loaded gun to an idiot or a child

Never give nukes to terrorists and those who advocate and sponsor it...

"From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime."

President GW Bush

Well......almost......any nation.....