Posted on 10/24/2001 5:55:34 PM PDT by kattracks
The former head of Pakistan's nuclear research programme, who is also an outspoken supporter of Islamic radicals, has been arrested in Pakistan and placed in "protective custody", the government said today. Sultan Bashiru-Din Mehmood was arrested yesterday by Pakistani intelligence officials in the eastern city of Lahore. "We don't know on what charges," his son Asim Mehmood said. Relatives said that he had been working recently on projects in Afghanistan, including land development, educational reform and food programmes. The authorities would not say why Mr Mehmood, who was project director of Pakistan's nuclear program prior to his retirement last year, was arrested. He was a known supporter of Afghanistan's Taliban regime and had links to other hardline Islamic groups in Pakistan. Mehmood addressed a gathering of intellectuals last week, calling for a halt to the US bombing and negotiations with the Taliban. He was detained with another scientist from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Abdul Majid. Pakistan is, like its neighbour and arch rival India, a nuclear power armed with atomic weapons. Islamic militants have held mass demonstrations in Pakistan since October 7, in protest at the US bombardment of Afghanistan and the Pakistani government's decision to provide logistical support to US forces, open its air space to the bombers and share intelligence information.
We knew this would happen thirty years ago. Just like Rip van Winkle, we slept while they conspired.
I hope Bush, Cheney and Rummy can get us out of this.
< lead foil hat on >The guy has been in Trashcanistan for several months. He knows how to build a nuke. If enough U235 is available then I have no doubt he could have built one. Pu239 would be a bit harder, but still feasible. This is the first thing I've seen regarding nuclear stuff (other than radiation bombs) that looks credible. < /lead >
Or they were moonlighting. I hope not but it would make sense seeing that bin Laden wants 100k troops on the ground. Using a nuclear weapon on a hundred troops at a time is a waste even for him.
Me too. Clinton killed us all if these guys are really this bad.
Instead of worring about his legacy, and how to get votes, he should have thought about the country first.
Unfortunately, National Defence is politically incorrect!
Our enemies, and potential enemies, have had eight long years to build or buy anything their little hearts desired.
No one was around to stop them .
We had no president.
Yeah, sure. Jimmy Carter signed him up for Habitat for Humanity in Afghanistan, so he took a sabbatical to do some charity work. That's about as credible as someone claiming the sky is green.
Doesn't this article just give you all sorts of warm fuzzies?
Just get the grad student lists for American and European University Science Departments for the past 30 years, and cross check them with lists of foreigners who have been naturalized or remain in the country as resident aliens. Its not like Nuke Science is a common course of study in Tehran U.
"We don't know on what charges," his son Asim Mehmood said.
Being a nuclear-capable towelhead is enough reason for me.
I'm just a little young to remember that, but I do remember evacuation drills from school. They told us we had 45 minutes to get home before the fallout from the nearest target would reach us. And my dad built an honest to god underground fallout shelter with a filtered hand crank air blower and a month's provisions. Had a geiger counter too.
Sir Francis Dashwood:
-------------------------------- ... or UC Santa Cruz. They are both "nuclear-free zones." Maybe U.S. Terrorist Angela Davis was his mentor.
Yeah, I think you are a raging optimist, but I hope you are right. Looks to me like the horse may already be out of the barn.
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