- Daily Photo: Obama Jokes Around at G-20
- Blackwater gets replaced in Iraq
- Daily Photo: U.S. Marines Look Out for Taliban in Afghanistan
- Hillary Clinton the Tomboy and Her "Ah-Ha" Moment
- Obama Administration Sudan Envoy Headed to Region
- Daily Photo: Potential Flashpoint in Iraq
- Clinton Says New Afghanistan-Pakistan Plan Depends on Diplomacy
- Exclusive: Three Israeli Airstrikes Against Sudan
- Additional 4,000 Troops to Be Ordered to Afghanistan
- Daily Photo: Navy Submarine Trains in the Arctic
- Alarm Over North Korea Missile Prep
- Anti-Terror Stimulus? US Offers Rewards for Top Terrorists
- Daily Photo: Pakistani Women in Refugee Camp
- Condoleezza Rice Appears on "The Tonight Show"
- Diplomat and Aid Group Sound the Alarm on Darfur Camp Situation
- auto industry rescue
- Ballotwatch
- Biden, Joe
- Bush, George W.
- Clinton, Bill
- Clinton, Hillary
- Dodd, Chris
- Edwards, John
- Giuliani, Rudy
- Gravel, Mike
- Huckabee, Mike
- Hunter, Duncan
- Inauguration
- Iraq
- Kucinich, Dennis
- McCain, John
- Obama, Barack
- Palin, Sarah
- Paul, Ron
- Romney, Mitt
- Tancredo, Tom
- Thompson, Fred
- Veepstakes
- Vote 2008: Democrats
- Vote 2008: Republicans
- Washington
- White House
« Previous | Main | Next »
U.S. Slaps Sanctions on AQ Khan and Others
Email
ShareJanuary 12, 2009 12:41 PM
ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: The U.S. State Department today imposed new sanctions on Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. A.Q. Khan and his associates for their involvement in an international nuclear proliferation ring. The move freezes any of their assets under U.S. jurisdiction.
"We believe these sanctions 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 said in a statement.
The State Department did not explain why it was announcing these measures on the 13 individuals and three private companies today though one official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said "information continued to become available as other countries concluded their investigations or prosecutions and we believed in this case that it was important to sanction the group at one time."
"This is a positive step. This seems to be related to tying up loose ends involving members of the Khan network who have until now possibly avoided prosecution or legal accountability for their actions," said Jacqueline Shire, a senior analyst for the Institute for Science and International Security and a former State Department nonproliferation expert.
In 2004, Khan admitted to peddling nuclear technology to other countries, though he later retracted those remarks in a 2008 interview with ABC News, saying he was forced by then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to confess and become a "scapegoat" for the "national interest." Khan was pardoned by Musharraf shortly after the scandal was revealed, though he has remained under house arrest ever since.
"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," the State Department said.
The U.S. government said Khan provided nuclear know-how to Iran and Libya, and possibly also to North Korea. Libya even received nuclear weapon designs from Khan, regarded as the father of Pakistan's nuclear program.
"With the assistance of Khan's network, countries could leapfrog the slow, incremental stages of other nuclear weapons development programs," the State Department said today.
Pakistan has so far resisted U.S. requests for access to question Khan about the extent of his proliferation activities.
Though Libya abandoned its fledgling nuclear program in 2004 and surrendered equipment provided by Khan, the effects of his network's proliferation may be felt for years to come. Iran has made strides to advance its nuclear program in recent years, and in 2006, North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon.
"The network's actions have irrevocably changed the proliferation landscape and have had lasting implications for international security," the State Department said in announcing today's sanctions.
"The Khan network didn't only share critical equipment and technology, it shared bomb designs with other countries. It doesn’t get worse than that," Shire said.
January 12, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (7)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
His story is already available on-line.
Just type in "American Hiroshima" into you browser. It will scare the crap out of you!
Posted by: bob | Jan 12, 2009 2:42:36 PM
This guy should be executed for giving away nuclear information (Or givin a life sentence if he's a muslim (so he doesn't become a martyr)).
Posted by: dan burkard | Jan 13, 2009 7:47:40 AM
often wondered if pakistan is such a wonderful country why do so many of its citizens come to live here in the usa? some are even here as illegal aliens. they keep coming not only to the usa but to britain and other western nations. what is wrong with pakistan that its people leave it? just wondering.
Posted by: Lawrence | Jan 13, 2009 7:57:29 AM
Wouldn't you think the US would have already done this. Is this guy not guilty of war crimes against humanity by peddling this technology to other countries. He should have been tried and in jail already for his obvious crimes.
Posted by: richard warren | Jan 13, 2009 9:11:47 AM
This is in response to Dan Burkard's question of why Pakistani people choose to immigrant to the US. Dan that question can be asked about every person immigrating to the US - Mexican, Germans, Chinese, Indians, etc. People come here for opportunities. The same question could be asked of Americans - why do some Americans choose to live abroad?
Posted by: Steven | Jan 16, 2009 1:30:45 PM
As if US has never been involved in nuclear proliferation. What about Israel? How come Israel has all these nukes. Ask yourself. People need to quit being Hippocrates. Why cant we Americans get out of same mid evil, crusade doctrine? which did nothing but destruction.
Posted by: Anj | Jan 16, 2009 1:38:42 PM
If he gave away so much nuclear information, then why havent these states been successfull in building the bomb? There is a vast amount of information on the internet on how to build nuclear capabilities but the problem is theroy is a whole different ball game from putting this into practice!
Posted by: km | Jan 17, 2009 8:58:29 PM
Post a comment
