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Analysis: The Treacherous Legacy of A.Q. Khan

Council on Foreign Relations

September 5, 2006
Prepared by: Eben Kaplan

Aside from Iraq, the other two "axis of evil" nations have been on the minds of U.S. policymakers of late. Last Thursday, Iran missed its deadline to comply with a UN resolution requiring the cessation of its nuclear program. The same day, the Defense Department successfully tested its controversial missile defense system (WashPost), which in part, is designed to protect U.S. targets from the specter of North Korea's ballistic missiles. But aside from giving U.S. officials fits, Iran and North Korea have another thing in common, they both have had extensive dealings with Dr. A.Q. Khan. The "Father of the Islamic Bomb," Khan is seen as a national hero in Pakistan for providing his country with a nuclear deterrent against its archrival, India. He is also one of the world's most notorious criminals, the former head of a network that distributed nuclear technology on the black market (Globalsecurity.org) to Iran and North Korea as well as Libya. The network inspired nightmares for nonproliferation and security officials, and former CIA Director George Tenet even described Khan as "at least as dangerous as Osama bin Laden" (BBC).

By 2003, Western intelligence officials were onto Khan, and that October they managed to intercept a shipment of centrifuge parts destined for Libya. The seizure marked the beginning of the end for the Khan network: The following year, Khan was forced to make a televised confession, after which he received a presidential pardon and was confined to house arrest in his multi-million dollar villa ( Atlantic) (subscription only). The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace tracks Khan's trajectory in this timeline (PDF), and the Wall Street Journal reviews a new book about Khan's dealings.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.