Did Pakistani President Send Nuke Centrifuges To North Korea?

Was Musharraf involved in a multi-national smuggling ring which apparently provided nuclear weapon technologies to North Korea, Libya and Iran? Did Pakistani President Send Nuke Centrifuges to North Korea?By Cliff Montgomery – July 9th, 2008Pakistan’s leaders quietly sent a shipment of centrifuges for uranium enrichment to North Korea about eight years ago, according to a June statement by former leading Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.Khan’s assertion was the clearest so far that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf may have been a key player in a multi-national smuggling ring which apparently provided crucial nuclear weapon technologies to North Korea, Libya and Iran.The scientist told reporters that old P-1 centrifuges were placed onto a North Korea airplane with the “complete knowledge” of Pakistan’s army and security agencies.“It was a North Korean plane, and the army had complete knowledge about it and the equipment,” said Khan from his home in an interview with reporters.The nuclear scientist was placed under house arrest after a 2004 confession that he was the ringleader of the smuggling network. But earlier this year Khan recanted that confession, declaring that it was given as part of a plea deal for his eventual freedom.A Musharraf spokesman rejected Khan’s latest assertions.“I can say with full confidence that it is all lies and false statements,” spokesman Rashid Qureshi told Associated Press reporters. Such an outraged denial from a career politician often means there may be something to the claims after all.In fact a leading Pakistani military official admitted to Agence France-Presse (AFP), a top French wire service, that in 2000 a dozen centrifuges were sent to North Korea, and further acknowledged that another unit had earlier been delivered to that nation.But apparently the official maintained that Khan was the perpetrator of these actions; in any case, he flatly denied any implication of top Pakistani administrators.“Technically, yes it happened in his (Musharraf’s) tenure, but giving an impression that he or the army was aware or supervised it is wrong,” Lt. Gen. Khalid Kidwai, Pakistani Strategic Planning Division Director, told AFP.  “I would like to categorically say it is absolutely wrong, false,” added Kidwai.And there are good reasons to believe that Musharraf and Lt. Gen. Kidwai are telling the truth on this one. As stated in a 2005 Naval Postgraduate study by Christopher Clary, “there is no proof that the Pakistani state was aware of the nuclear transfers from Pakistan to Iran, North Korea, Libya, and perhaps others.”Though Clary apparently uncovered some “evidence…of possible Pakistani state knowledge or consent for Khan’s nuclear enterprise,” he emphasized in his study a firm belief that “the dangers to Pakistan were too great, the benefits too small,” for direct governmental approval.”Instead, the most easily identifiable beneficiary was Khan, and the individuals that work with him, as evidenced in bank accounts in Pakistan, Dubai, Switzerland, and elsewhere.”Regardless of governmental consent, “Khan’s activities call into question the ability of Pakistan to safeguard and secure its nuclear arsenal,” Clary correctly observed.Since George W. Bush first decided to misuse the bulk of U.S. military prowess in Iraq in 2003, he has left the principal duty of tracking down al-Qaeda leadership to Pakistan–a country whose president and military either cannot or will not keep the government’s nuclear weapon technologies from unsavory characters.Of course, al-Qaeda is the terrorist group which actually attacked America on Sept. 11th, 2001–and which had absolutely nothing at all to do with Iraq.Such decisions underscore the foolishness of our current White House.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!