The Pakistani Proliferator

Skim through headlines and you’re likely to come across a small handful of countries that garner the lion’s share of attention in the US. Countries like Iran, North Korea and Pakistan have also captured a great deal of attention by the US government as evidenced by their repeated inclusion in the Department of Defense’s Quadrennial Defense Review released in 2010, outlining the current and future goals of US defense policy. These countries are unified in the relative power nuclear weapons programs afford them in punching above their weight on international issues. This capability was afforded to them largely by one man.

           

It’s hard to fathom but from 1976 to 2004 the actions of one Pakistani man resulted in the achievement or near achievement of nuclear capabilities by Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, and Libya. One guy had a hand in all of these country’s programs?? Yes. He also is reported to have had contact with Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and possibly Al Qaeda.

Nuclear weapons present a real threat that, when delivered effectively, can kill from hundreds of thousands to millions. Representative of a death toll that no one wants to witness these weapons serve a second, perhaps even more important, purpose as a perceived threat or deterrent. Therefore, the possession of nuclear weapons by hostile countries could not only mean millions of potential deaths on the battlefield, but the ability of those countries to impact the power relations that affect billions. Nukes are a big deal.

            Abdul Qadeer (A.Q) Khan used secrets he stole while working in the Netherlands to supply and build Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, meant to counteract nuclear rival India. Propelled by wealth and perhaps hubris Khan sold centrifuges, designs, and centrifuge technology in 1987 to Iran, swapped nuclear for missile technology with North Korea in the late 1990’s, and attempted to create a turn key (because it’s ready to use at the turn of the key) nuclear weapons program for Libya in the early 2000’s. Khan created an expansive, illicit nuclear weapons trafficking network that spanned the globe, but was finally brought down by the US and UK in 2004.

          Today A.Q. Khan’s legacy can be seen in some of the most prescient global flashpoint issues. Instability, conflict, and proliferation in Pakistan threatens regional stability, North Korea continues to oppress its people and assume an offensive posturing toward its region, while Iran negotiates an agreement with western powers to freeze their nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief.

          Few if any single actors have had as big of a formative influence on global affairs as has A.Q Khan; and in the event of a widespread outbreak of war few throughout history will have been responsible for more death and bloodshed. It is curious then that he is such a relatively obscure and little known figure. Today Khan lives as a free man and national hero in Pakistan.