Down the nuclear rabbit hole

[jpak]

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/03/opinion/la-oe-frantz-khan-20110103

Seven years after the U.S. government proclaimed victory over the rogue Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan, the seeds of catastrophe he sowed are still sprouting worldwide. Iran's march toward an atomic bomb? We have Khan's nuclear trafficking network to thank. North Korea's continuing development of nuclear weapons? Again, Khan's doing.

Despite putting the world's most dangerous weapons in the hands of the world's most dangerous regimes, not one participant in Khan's network is in jail today. Even the mastermind himself, too powerful for his own government to imprison, was allowed the comfort of house arrest, and now even that has ended. Instead of a strong message of deterrence, shutting down the atomic bazaar resulted in an unseemly mercy for its perpetrators and a new form of cyber proliferation.


By its nature, nuclear trafficking crosses borders. Combating this danger requires international cooperation. Yet at every turn in tracking the Khan network from Pakistan to Iran, North Korea and Libya, national interests trumped counter-proliferation objectives. Decisions by policymakers and intelligence officials in several nations created a calculus in which selling the means to wipe out a city carried less risk of severe punishment than robbing the neighborhood convenience store.

The worst scofflaw was our own Central Intelligence Agency, aided and abetted by senior officials in the George W. Bush administration. Together, they advocated obstructionism masquerading as prudence, blocking prosecutions and orchestrating the destruction of evidence detailing the full extent of the damage to our security by the Khan network.

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[villager]

1. Blocking prosecutions!? That could sure never happen now!

n/t

[txlibdem]

4. Sure wouldn't happen here in the "good old" USA, right? Right?

Ummm...

:scared:

[RKP5637]

2. I recently watched the movie "Countdown to Zero" on this. I found it quite

interesting and chilling. Although I had always known this was a problem, I had no idea of the extent until I saw "Countdown to Zero."

[kristopher]

3. Link

http://www.takepart.com/countdowntozero

[RKP5637]

7. Thanks!!! n/t

[joshcryer]

9. I thought it was propaganda more than anything.

About as informative as, say, What A Way To Go.

[JohnWxy]

5. Jesus! "blocking prosecutions and orchestrating the destruction of evidence"

"The worst scofflaw was our own Central Intelligence Agency, aided and abetted by senior officials in the George W. Bush administration. Together, they advocated obstructionism masquerading as prudence, blocking prosecutions and orchestrating the destruction of evidence detailing the full extent of the damage to our security by the Khan network."


incredible!

[jpak]

6. These are the same assholes that outed Valerie Plame

who knew?

[madokie]

12. yup

shore 'nuf
the dick should be in jail right this very fucking minute

[joshcryer]

8. I saw Countdown to Zero. Scaremongering to fuck.

[RKP5637]

10. Just curious, did you see this as not a problem? n/t

[madokie]

13. It'll be interesting to read the answer

[kristopher]

14. Is a non-response an interesting reply? nt

[madokie]

15. Telling for sure

:hi:

[joshcryer]

17. Thanks for the kick.

:hi:

[joshcryer]

16. I didn't see your question until now. No, it is not as big of a problem as climate change is.

I mean, when they talk about Al Qaeda buying up sheep land to mine uranium one must just sit back and shake their head if they have any grasp of what is going on.

[RKP5637]

18. Thanks for getting back to me. I see your point now. Thanks! n/t

[madokie]

11. I believe the dick was involved with this

rec