The news that AQ Khan was selling the electronic blueprints for a modern nuclear device brings home just how close some rogue nations might be to a nuclear bomb.
Here are the two key passages from The New York Times report:
American and international investigators say that they have found the electronic blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon on computers that belonged to the nuclear smuggling network run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the rogue Pakistani nuclear scientist, but that they have not been able to determine whether they were sold to Iran or the smuggling ring’s other customers.
The plans appear to closely resemble a nuclear weapon that was built by Pakistan and first tested exactly a decade ago.
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The design is in electronic form, they said, making it easy to copy — and they have no idea how many copies of it are now in circulation.
Investigators said the evidence that the Khan network was trafficking in a tested, compact and efficient bomb design was particularly alarming, because if a country or group obtained the bomb design, the technological information would significantly shorten the time needed to build a weapon. Among the missiles that could carry the smaller weapon, according to some weapons experts, is the Iranian Shahab III, which is based on a North Korean design.
The Washington Post has more details in its story. This really is a wake-up call for those who dismiss the dangers posed by rogue states and nuclear proliferation. When one considers that Khan was selling to the highest bidder, one realises how if proliferation of this kind of nuclear knowledge continues it really is just a matter of time before terrorists get their hands on a bomb.
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