Reply #13: "sting operation"

[Snazzy]

To me those were the most interesting words in the brief Time article--don't think I heard that before. Although I haven't yet read Wilson's book. Does he mention that?

Who was to be stung?

Was her focus Saudis?

There was an article yesterday that seemed to tie in nicely:

U.S. Firm Supplied Nuclear Black Market

By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer

VIENNA, Austria - An investigation of the black market supplying nations wanting nuclear arms has spread to more than 20 firms — some of them North American — the chief of the U.N. atomic agency told The Associated Press Friday. A senior diplomat identified one of the firms as U.S. based.

Demanding anonymity, the diplomat also said the Syria and Saudi Arabia are also being investigated as possible buyer nations, beyond Iraq (news - web sites), Iran, Libya and North Korea (news - web sites) — the countries known to have been in contact with Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan and members of his procurement network.

But the diplomat, who is familiar with the Vienna-based IAEA told The AP that beyond suspicions prompting a continuing investigation, "there has been no proof" on Syria and Saudi Arabia that would warrant them being reported to the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In separate comments to The Associated Press, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei avoided specifics on the locations of the firms supplying the nuclear black market beyond saying there were "over 20 countries, some of them in North America."

....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040710/ap_on_re_eu/nuclear_black_market&cid=518&ncid=716

This was one interesting direction thread #4 was getting into.