In The News

Lessons from an Unpunished Crime in Pakistan

Michael Krepon February 9, 2004
When A. Q. Khan, the 'father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb', spoke publicly last week, he urged the world to believe that only he - not his president or his country's government - was responsible for selling technology and know-how to aspiring bomb makers in Libya, North Korea, and Iran. Yet despite Khan's best efforts, says nuclear arms expert Michael Krepon, his story...

At Least 7 Nations Tied To Pakistani Nuclear Ring

Peter Slevin February 7, 2004
US and Pakistani intelligence officials recently denounced the founder of Pakistan's nuclear program Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan for illegally trading nuclear technology to other nations. After Dr. Khan's confession, officials now find themselves confronted with the terrible realizations this new information. Dr. Khan's network to sell nuclear materials seems to have extended to, at...

Giving Pakistan a Pass

February 6, 2004
When a top nuclear scientist suddenly takes all of the blame for trafficking nuclear materials it looks odd. When that same scientist claims to have been acting alone, contradicting previous implications that many generals (one of whom is now president) were also involved, and the current president pardons the scientist, it looks like a whitewash. Such is the current state of Pakistani affairs,...

Not Everyone Got It Wrong on Iraq's Weapons

Scott Ritter February 5, 2004
For years, Scott Ritter, chief UN inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, has maintained that Iraq's nuclear weapons program was defunct. Current evidence from David Kay's investigation suggests that Ritter was right. Yet Kay stated in his report on the Iraqi Survey Group's progress that "we were all wrong," ignoring the differing opinions of many UN workers. In this...

Khan, Scapegoat or Magician Extraordinary?

Ayaz Amir February 5, 2004
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...

Six-Way Nuclear Talk Prospects Unclear

Seo Hyun-jin February 4, 2004
North Korea's announcement that it is willing to proceed with six-way talks on its nuclear program is no guarantee that progress will be made when its representatives meet with those of the US and other countries in Beijing later this month. This article in The Korea Herald says that the future of the talks and Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development program depends on the resolution...

For Bush, a Tactical Retreat on Iraq

Dana Milbank February 2, 2004
Without going as far as to admit being wrong, US President George W. Bush has agreed to create an independent review committee to investigate US intelligence failures in Iraq. Last week David Kay, the former US chief weapons inspector in Iraq, said that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction before the US attacked Saddam Hussein's government and called for an independent...