CIA busted Khan's nuke empire

The Times of India ^ | Februari 06 2004 | CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA

[knighthawk]

WASHINGTON: The United States has opted for a Faustian deal to absolve Pakistan of any official complicity in nuclear proliferation because of its crucial role in the war on terrorism.

Pieces of the proliferation jigsaw now falling into place indicate that Washington has known about Pakistan’s reckless endangerment of international security for some years now, and certainly since Gen Musharraf came to power.

But instead of publicly citing Islamabad for spread of nuclear weapons technology, a step that would have automatically invited sanctions against Pakistan’s defence establishment and disrupted the war on terrorism, the Bush administration chose to tweak Musharraf to bring it under control on its behalf.

In fact, the CIA had an inside track of Pakistan’s proliferation activities for several years and nailed its renegade nuclear scientists A.Q.Khan with the help of British intelligence, the agency’s director George Tenet disclosed on Thursday.

In a rare insight into the working of the agency, made primarily in order to defend its performance on the Iraq front, Tenet told a gathering at his alma mater Georgetown University that the CIA had tagged Khan and his network across four continents as they offered nuclear wares to countries like North Korea and Iran.

"Working with out British colleagues, we pieced together the picture of the network revealing its subsidiaries, its scientists, its front companies, its agents, its finances, and manufacturing plants on three continents. Our spies penetrated the network through a series of daring operations over several years," Tenet revealed.

But the CIA Director carefully avoided naming Pakistan because of the political-legislative implications, choosing instead to cite Khan personally.

According to administration officials, the US has consistently been on the Khan case with Musharraf from the time he came to power, and as more and more evidence of proliferation came to light.

Washington was also aware that the leaks were taking place right up to fall of 2003. At one point, Secretary of State Colin Powell is even said to have demanded Musharraf arrest Khan.

While the administration, publicly at least, has chosen to express faith in Musharraf, US analysts across the board are increasingly leery of the general, suggesting that he is duplicitous and untrustworthy and that he has made Khan a fall guy for to save the army. Few buy the explanation that Khan could have proliferated without official knowledge or complicity.

In a scathing editorial, the Washington Post said "Pakistan has been guilty of some of the worst crimes of nuclear weapons proliferation ever committed."

"Now the administration must confront the reality that Pakistan's military leadership has done more to threaten U.S. and global security with weapons of mass destruction than either al Qaeda or Saddam Hussein," the paper said. "Were Pakistan not a professed ally of the United States, its behavior would meet the criteria for preemptive military intervention outlined in Mr. Bush's national security strategy."

The Dallas Morning News said on the other hand that Musharraf "may be a double-dealing scoundrel, but in a nation vital to the war on terror, he's the only friend we've got."

[knighthawk]

Ping

[Naspino]

I didn't think the United States had a policy of declaring war on every nation that meets the requirements. I mean I don't remember that? I remember war being the LAST choice after years of failed diplomacy. Of course I'm not a writer for a liberal rag. I suppose if I were I would see the President through smog filled goggles too.

[Sacajaweau]

This makes things REAL unteresting. If we didn't have this alliance with Pakistan, would we have been able to get this info? Did Pakistan take us as an ally because they were fearful themselves?

[knighthawk]

Well, in 2001 they didn't have a choice really. Or we would have bombed them too to clear a path to Afghanistan.

[trebb]

If we didn't have this alliance with Pakistan, would we have been able to get this info? Did Pakistan take us as an ally because they were fearful themselves?

And what do you think led up to the "alliance"? Anyone who thinks that Pakistan offered to help is living in the Democrats' world. If you don't think that President Bush worked behind the scenes to explain, in plain language, why Musharraf's future depended on his support, then you don't believe that he (Bush) is the leader we need.

Pakistan was most certainly fearful, and as you can see, they were a lot more fearful of President Bush than they were of the Taliban and the rest of the terrorist/Arab world.

[Paradox]

Bush: Uh, Mr. Mushy, we need your help in this war against terror

Mushy: Yeah, RIGHT.

Bush: The CIA tells me your country has been selling its nuclear secrets to others, and might be on our list of countries that need to be placed back in the stone age... That is, if'n you don't help us out.

Mushy: {Gulp} Okay, how high shall I jump?

[swarthyguy]

You have to love this headline from the TOI.

A Khan of Worms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/480212.cms

[spetznaz]

Bush: The CIA tells me your country has been selling its nuclear secrets to others, and might be on our list of countries that need to be placed back in the stone age... That is, if'n you don't help us out.

Mushy: {Gulp} Okay, how high shall I jump?

Pardon me Paradox but i just do not buy this! We have called this issue an 'internal matter of Pakistan' and have basically just looked the other way. FOr goodness sake Pakistan (NOT Khan as an individual BUT Pakistan as a nation, since Mushy and the top echelon in the military knew what was happening) sold nuclear secrets and materials to other nations. In a phrase that is known as 'nuclear proliferation!' Yet what do we do? Let Mushy pardon Khan for being such a naughty lil' boy.

However we are hounding North Korea for proliferating 2nd-rate ballistic missile technology, Iran for acquiring a nuclear reactor that can be tweaked to produce weapons-grade material, and Iraq was dismantled for having plans for a WMD program.

When we have a nation that, without any doubt whatsoever, IS engaging in nuclear proliferation (as in no 'buts,' these guys are neck deep in this stuff) , what do we do? Hey ...let Mushy handle it. And Mushy handles it ....by telling Khan that he (Khan) was his childhood hero and then pardoning him!

Are you guys blind! Don't you see the irony?

We went to Iraq because there was the chance they were doing funny stuff there. We are watchful for N.Korea because they have a fledgling nuke program, and also because their main exports (ballistic missile technology) can threaten us in the future. However without Pakistan's 'exports' (nuclear technology) any Dong ICBM from N.Korea is useless! N.Korean ICBMs can only deliver either conventional explosives or nuclear warheads (to deliver biological warheads over inter-continental distances requires more expensive technology in cooling during descent, which the N.Ks do not have). Now, a conventional warhead ICBM is a waste of time and money, hence the only option is a nuclear tipped one. And what country is spreading nuke tech????? Pakistan.

And then there is the Pakistani ISI .....which is what our CIA would be were it evil and affiliated with terrorist elements. Then there is the fact that radical islamic elements are prodigious in Pakistan. Even the Brits say that Pakistan is a huge threat. And then we find out they are selling nuclear material to all and sundry, and basically doing more 'baddies' than all our current 'Axis of evil' put together! And then Mushy tells Khan no-no and then pardons him, and everything is ok.

You know what ....this is not ironic. No. It is outrightly hypocritical!

[swarthyguy]

Shush your negatory thoughts.

This was part of the strategery.

When we send more money to Mush, he'll turn around; just u wait and see.

Of course, if he hands over Osama, all is forgiven.

[spetznaz]

Yup ...i'll shush and wait to see the strategery kick in. LOL

however i'll not hold my breath

[swarthyguy]

David Kay on CSPAN last night expressed astonishment at the scale of Pakitani loose nukes.

Speechless. Is he that dumb or just acts it on TV?

[js1138]

democrats will only deal with the pure of heart. Their CIA will only speak to gentlemen. Church will return to the driver's seat.

[knighthawk]

LOL!

[archy]

You have to love this headline from the TOI.

A Khan of Worms

When I wrote for the Daily News in my Indiana days, we once had a basement fire and boiler explosion in a local boarding house. There were several conflicting stories on the possible cause of the explosion, none supported by evidence, and accordingly, I slugged one of my photos from the incident with a cutline describing suddenly homeless residents discussing the possibilities with the phrase *roomers were flying following boiler explosion.* My boss got a good chuckle out of it and let it run, and caught complaints about his/our insensitivity when one of the victims died in the hospital the following day. He always claimed I had the ability to get him into trouble while coming out of it unaffected myself, with him walking right into the following storm with his eyes wide open.

He did manage to top my cutline with one of his groaner headlines, however. -archy-/-

[archy]

This was part of the strategery.

When we send more money to Mush, he'll turn around; just u wait and see.

Of course, if he hands over Osama, all is forgiven.

How long has General Davar been running the Indian DIA, about 2 years now? I'd just wonder that his fine hand might be involved in some of the moving of the chess pieces in the last few months, if mostly an exchange of pawns for the most part.

[reformedliberal]

Or just maybe, once Perv allows our guys to come into Pak and clear out OBL and the gang, Perve will find himself obligated to begin clearing out the Islamists w/in the government/military/security services. Or else.

Incrementalism at work. There are wheels within wheels. I know you guys know that.(g)

[swarthyguy]

Don't know anything about General Daxar, will google him adn see if anything's available. But I'm sure his boys have been active in parts of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

But India has certainly been accomodating in the interests of peace, having exchanges, students, sports, entertainers, even the two respective ministers of Punjab met. Mush has done his bit, too. Biscuits, cucumber sandwiches and tea for everyone. And India has quit whining about the American approach to the SubCOntinent and are going along. And the people really don't want to fight. But I'm sure we can count on the jihadis to keep things interesting.

Arjun Award winner wrestler Randheer Singh fighting with Rustem-e-Pakistan Naseer Pehalwan during a wrestling match at Sur Singh village near Amritsar during the 5th International Rural Games on Friday, February 6, 2004.

The governor of Indian Punjab is an ex-AF/army Captain named Amarinder Singh, author of an exhaustive account of the Kargil War of 1999, called "A Ridge Too Far". Apparently one of the Pakistani Punjabi's biggest issues was the lack of Punjabi being spoken in Pakistan, it's thriving in India, but not officially acknowledged by Islamabad. Quite surprising that the Punjabis of Pakistan are miffed at the pervasiveness of Urdu in Pakistan.

[swarthyguy]

Hey, so far, so good.

Mush has pulled off a pretty amazing highwire act.

Crunch time is coming; the Kalashnikov/Jihadi/Madrassa culture is alive and well. How he turns around the millions of muslims away from the panislamic ideologies that the state and its media have propogated for over two decades will be interesting, to say the least.

---

The six-party religious alliance, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) vowed on Thursday to wage jihad not only for Kashmir but also for the protection of Pakistan’s nuclear technology, and it also accused the government and Army of withdrawing their support on both fronts.

“Our rulers as well as the army have withdrawn from the protection of Pakistan’s nuclear assets of Pakistan and now it is the duty of the masses to wage a campaign to maintain nuclear deterrence and help liberate Kashmir from the Indian yoke,” central MMA leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad, announced at a mass rally here on Kashmir Solidarity Day.

The rally, which was attended by thousands of MMA supporters including women, ...

He questioned why the nuclear programmes of India and Israel have not been criticised.

He said the government is paying lip service to the Kashmir cause. “Now the President talks about setting aside the UN resolutions on Kashmir and calls the Kashmir jihad terrorism,” he said. “A stable nuclear Pakistan is necessary to win a war on the Kashmir front.”

Other MMA leaders, including MNA Mian Aslam, MNA Hanif Abbasi, *+->>Hassamul Haq, the brother of detained scientist Islamul Haq,<<==.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_6-2-2004_pg7_8

We need atomic weapons and mujahideen, says Daawa

LAHORE: Atomic weapons, traditional weapons, a strong army and voluntary mujahideen are obligatory for jihad and the Jamaat ud-Daawa (JD) will continue protecting and arranging these resources for jihad against Hindus, the JD party announced Thursday at a Kashmir Solidarity Day rally.

Around 3,000 people participated in the rally on The Mall,

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_6-2-2004_pg7_15

Good news, if not in terms of sentiment, but in terms of numbers, its not a big deal, to get 3-4 thousand people in a demo, for the area.