New Players on the Scene: A.Q. Khan and the Nuclear Black Market (2005)

[ProSense]

From eJournal USA: Foreign Policy Agenda, March 2005:

New Players on the Scene: A.Q. Khan and the Nuclear Black Market

Colonel Charles D. Lutes

Snip..

In October 2003, Italian coast guard cutters pulled alongside a German-flagged cargo vessel bound for Libya called the BBC China. Upon inspection, authorities found precision machine tools, aluminum tubes, molecular pumps, and other components for building approximately 10,000 "P-2" gas centrifuges designed for enriching uranium to specifications required for a nuclear weapon.

These components were traced back to a publicly traded Malaysian engineering company called Scomi Precision Engineering. Scomi had manufactured the parts at the behest of a Sri Lankan, Buhary Sayed Abu Tahir. Via his front company in Dubai, SMB Computers, Tahir arranged to deliver the parts to Libya for its hidden nuclear weapons program.

The Italian authorities ensured that the cargo never arrived at its destination. The seizure of the BBC China's cargo was a key part in a chain of events that led Libyan President Muammar Qadhafi to "come out of the cold" and renounce his weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs in December 2003.

Snip...

Now that A.Q. Khan is under house arrest in Pakistan, but unavailable to Western authorities for interrogation, vexing questions remain. It is clear that Khan met with, and possibly sold components to, officials in a number of nuclear-aspiring states. Ongoing investigation has linked Khan to nuclear programs in Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Additionally, published reports have identified Khan meetings with potential customers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Algeria, Kuwait, Myanmar, and Abu Dhabi. The wider the spread of this dangerous knowledge and expertise, the greater the opportunity exists for terrorists or criminals to become armed with a nuclear bomb.

Snip...

As much damage as the black market may have done in bringing North Korea and Iran closer to membership in the nuclear club, the present danger lies in how the supplier network adapts now that Khan is no longer at the helm.

Although President Bush has stated that Khan's network has been shut down, it remains possible that parts of it may have just burrowed more deeply underground. While it is unlikely that Khan Research Laboratories will engage in any further black market activity, it remains to be seen what will become of its associates.

Snip...

However, the black-market activities of A.Q. Khan may only be the tip of the iceberg. As long as there is significant demand for nuclear capability, suppliers will try to find ways to meet it. The international community must be flexible in its approach in order to confront the ever-changing nature of the nuclear supplier network. The shift from cooperative agreements to cooperative action to curb both demand and supply is a necessary ingredient for success.

So Libya was still trying to get nuclear weapons seven months after Bush invaded Iraq!

:wow:

The Bush Administration's Nonproliferation Policy: Successes and Future Challenges

John R. Bolton, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security
Testimony Before the House International Relations Committee
Washington, DC
March 30, 2004

Snip...

Libya

We face significant challenges in other parts of the world from terrorist-sponsoring regimes that are developing weapons of mass destruction in many forms. Rogue states whose pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, reckless behavior, and repressive ideologies make them hostile to U.S. interests, will learn that their covert programs will not escape either detection or consequences. The government of Libya came to this conclusion in early 2003 as the United States was preparing to go to war with Iraq. And while we will pursue diplomatic solutions whenever possible, as in the case of Libya, the United States and its allies must be willing to deploy more robust techniques, such as the interdiction and seizure of illicit goods, the disruption of procurement networks, the imposition of sanctions, or other means. If rogue states are not willing to follow the logic of nonproliferation norms, they must be prepared to face the logic of adverse consequences. It is why we repeatedly caution that no option is off the table.

BCCI, Iran Contra relevance: UAE, Saudi, Pakistan, money and Bush family