Khan, Scapegoat or Magician Extraordinary?

Dr. A. Q. Khan, the 'father' of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, publicly admitted that he traded weapons secrets to multiple nations in "good faith". President Musharraf immediately pardoned Khan, who is considered a national hero. By staging a neat ending to Pakistan's nuclear weapons problem, author Ayaz Amir argues that the government hopes America and other nations will forget the true nature of Pakistan's "leaky" weapons program. But Dr. Khan should not be allowed to take all the blame, says Amir, as it will only sweep the real problems with Pakistan's nuclear program under the table. For now, a distracted America appears to accept that Musharraf's government is doing all it can to quell the weapons trade. But once America chooses to pay attention, Amir is afraid the "Yanks" will not take kindly to Pakistan's continued weapons development. If Pakistan wants to keep its weapons program, and avoid UN scrutiny and American attempts to denuclearize the country, then it needs to clean up its act. – YaleGlobal