U.S. targets A.Q. Khan nuclear network

edition.cnn.com...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sanctions will be placed on 13 people and three companies "for their involvement in the A.Q. Khan nuclear proliferation network," the U.S. State Department said Monday.

Khan, a Pakistani scientist, operated an international black market in nuclear material to a number of states with a history of poor relations with the United States.

He was arrested in February 2004 and eventually pardoned by former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

The sanctions, which follow a U.S. review of the network, "will help prevent future proliferation-related activities by these private entities, provide a warning to other would-be proliferators, and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to using all available tools to address proliferation-related activities."

The department notes that Khan spearheaded an "extensive international network for the proliferation of nuclear equipment and know-how that provided one-stop shopping for countries seeking to develop nuclear weapons."

Iran and Libya received centrifuge components, centrifuges, and designs from Khan and his associates, and the United States believes the network "provided centrifuge designs, equipment, and technology to North Korea."

The department said Khan "provided Libya with nuclear weapon designs."

The department added that Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and Malaysia are among the governments that have worked with the U.S. "to investigate and shut down the network."

"Many of Dr. Khan's associates are either in custody, being prosecuted, or have been convicted of crimes," it said.

"While we believe the A.Q. Khan network is no longer operating, countries should remain vigilant to ensure that Khan network associates, or others seeking to pursue similar proliferation activities, will not become a future source for sensitive nuclear information or equipment."

www.reuters.com...

Selim Alguadis, Kursad Zafer Cire, Muhammad Nasim ud Din, EKA Elektronik Kontrol Aletleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., ETI Elektroteknik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Tradefin Engineering, Muhammad Farooq, Daniel Geiges, Paul Griffin, Peter Griffin, Abdul Qadeer Khan, Shamsul Bahrin bin Rukiban, Buhary Seyed Abu Tahir, Gotthard Lerch, Gerhard Wisser and Shah Hakim Shahnazim Zain.

Peter Griffin??




[edit on 2009/1/12 by Aeons]

I wish people would stop posting news stories from CNN. It's all just badly written propaganda with a grain of truth.

Good find tho, seems the US is making sure nobody has more Nukes than them. God forbid Iran get a Nuclear weapon and politely ask the rest of the world to stop telling them what to do.

Tell you the truth i would love for them to acquire one, just so they could make they're own decisions for a change and show people they aren't the "evil" country the press makes them out to be.

I also have a Reuter's source there.

Iran can kiss my grits. The day that I will be okay with them being "equal" to the first world nations is the day that they admit that women are their equals. In other words - not until a drastic cultural change happens.

People who want other nations who despise them and have no will to live in tandem with them, and actively promote ideals and cultural traits that are meant to actively enslave at least 50% of the population....well those people are either self-hating, or they secretly want to be ruled by them.

I never trust your type.

Grits, Peter Griffin, and trying to prevent Iran from bombing stuff.
This is a good thread.

www.wmdinsights.com...

Oh good, someone in government finally figured out what the internet knew 4 years ago. now if they could track down the ISI payment to Mohammed Atta we might get somewhere.

Given the history of covert assassinations, I find it odd that A.Q. Khan is alive.

The Pakistani atomic bomb was built and detonated by the Chinese on their soil. Khan was really only a low level technician who pilfered the plans needed to build an atomic bomb. Even with that information, and the resourses of his government, they still needed the Chinese to pull off a successful detonation.

What a shame that a con-man was allowed to make the world much less safe. What a shame. For the cost of a bullet in the early 1990's, the world would be a better place today.