New Photos Show Secret Pakistan Plutonium Plant; Fear of More Weapons Being Made

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

A satellite photograph obtained by ABC News reveals Pakistan is nearing completion of a third, previously unknown plutonium production reactor, suggesting Pakistan may be planning to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal.

"With large stocks of plutonium, Pakistan can build a new generation of lighter, more powerful weapons that can more easily be launched via missiles and can cause far more damage," said David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), which, along with DigitalGlobe, provided the satellite image to ABC News.

The image, taken on June 3, indicates the new reactor is a replica of a second heavy water reactor, also under construction, at Khushab, approximately 109 miles south of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital.

The third reactor is located a few hundred meters to the north of the second. The original reactor at the site began operations in 1998.



Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/06/new-photos-show.html

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Never fear, Musharraf is our good buddy. But he's sure on shaky ground. Imagine if he's overthrown. Will we be bombing Pakistan?

[whistle]

1. Along with Pakistani General who wired the $100,000.00 payment

...to the head of the 9/11 hijackings, this could very well be the smoking gun against the Bush Administration

[DavidDvorkin]

3. There's a boatload of smoking guns

And they're all being ignored.

[krispos42]

2. So, why, exactly, are we freaking out about Iran again?

Hmmm... advanced IEDs are working their way from Iran (which is NOT harboring Osama) into Iraq...

VERSUS

a secret plutonium plant nearing completion in Pakistan (which IS harboring Osama)...


Hmmm.... which one is the more serious threat?










Oh, silly me. I'm asking the wrong question.


Iran has oil

VERSUS

Pakistan doesn't have oil




Ah, that makes much more neocon sense now.



Is it impeachable yet?

[whistle]

4. Because Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants Iran neutralized meaning nuked

...and is still pushing hard for U.S. to take action:

<snip>
Israeli PM: 'Whole world' must work to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions
Updated 11/13/2006 6:56 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) — At a potential turning point in its war in Iraq, the Bush administration paused Monday to huddle with worried ally Israel over the crisis next door in Iran and to take stock of other Mideast trouble spots.
Israel is worried that political fallout from the Republican election losses and rising calls for U.S. engagement with Iran may soften President Bush's resolve against a country whose president has said the Jewish state should be wiped from the map. Bush offered some reassurance on Iran during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

"I recognize the threat to world peace that the Iranians ... pose, as does the prime minister," Bush told reporters following the 90-minute meeting.

Olmert's White House meeting, his first since an inconclusive war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon weakened his own political footing at home, also covered the deteriorating political situations in the Palestinians territories and in Lebanon, U.S. and Israeli officials said. Iraq was a topic, but Israelis made clear that Iran's influence and support for terrorism was foremost on Olmert's mind.

"The Iran issue was the main issue on the table," Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin told reporters after the session. "Talking about what you do with this combination, what do you do with a president who not only backs terror but is actively pursuing nuclear weapons?"
<MORE>

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-11-13-olmert_x.htm

[acmavm]

5. Pakistan? The home of the nuclear one-stop-shopping mart of

Dr. A. Q. Kahn

<snip>
Many Pakistanis have felt that President Pervez Musharraf succumbed to US pressure in moving against A.Q. Khan, the latter's stature as a national hero. However, given the scope of the problem and the fact taht the three intended recipients of nuclear transfers are on the list of countries the United States is most anxious to keep away from weapons of mass destruction, Musharraf may not have had a choice other than act on A.Q. Khan. Still, the government of Pakistan is likely not to be eager to give the United States any more information than it has to as to the whereabouts and/or security arrangements of its nuclear arsenal.

In his startling televised confession Wednesday, Abdul Qadeer Khan insisted he acted without authorization in selling nuclear technology to other governments. A.Q. Khan admitted selling nuclear technology to Iran, Libya, and North Korea. A.Q. Khan asked for clemency, but the Pakistani government made no public announcement about whether he is to be prosecuted. The confessed proliferation took place between 1989 and 2000, though it is suspected that proliferation activities to North Korea continued after that date. The network used to supply these activities is global in scope, stretching from Germany to Dubai and from China to South Asia, and involves numerous middlemen and suppliers.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/khan.htm
-MORE-

[Supersedeas]

9. not the center of MidEast democracy but Bush's bestest friend nonetheless

[truthisfreedom]

6. Tiny bit bigger picture here

[Ian David]

7. Is this a "Slam Dunk"? n/t

[rodeodance]

8. no problem. Cheney is their buddy

[JCMach1]

10. And from Reuters

Pakistan said building third nuclear reactor
(Reuters)

22 June 2007


WASHINGTON - Pakistan appears to be building a third plutonium production reactor at its Khushab nuclear site in order to build more powerful atomic bombs, a research group said on Thursday.

The construction was seen on commercial satellite imagery, according to the Institute for Science and International Security, or ISIS. It comes at a time when relations with a key US ally in the anti-terror war are already under some strain.

“Pakistan may have concluded that it needs to improve the quality of its nuclear arsenal and build a new generation of lighter, more powerful weapons,” said ISIS President David Albright and researcher Paul Brannen, in an analysis.

They said the activity at Khushab and also at a plutonium separation facility at Chasma, 50 miles (80 km) west of Khushab, “should be viewed as a sign of an accelerated nuclear arms race” between Pakistan and its nuclear-armed adversary, India.

“Both Pakistan and India appear on the verge of greatly expanding their production of nuclear explosive materials and nuclear weapons, including more powerful weapons,” they added... http://khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/June/subcontinent_June831.xml§ion=subcontinent

[paparush]

11. Queue Colin Powell, Lets gets some pointers moving, some

CGI.

[GeorgeGist]

12. Ah the manly smell of ...

American hypocrisy in the morning to remind me of our Great White Fathers' wisdom and guidance.

:freak:
:nuke:

[Chemical Bill]

13. Isn't this the subject that Valerie Plame was researching?

We'd have had advanced knowledge of this if her husband wasn't so partisan. :sarcasm:

Bill

[Swede]

14. Sounds like a ful blown arms race.

This should get everyone nervous.