Bush's dangerous administration: bin Laden, AQ Khan and back to square one

[ProSense]

Al-Qaeda trying to get weapons of mass destruction: US report

Tue Oct 9, 10:47 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network is still trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction including nuclear and biological arms, a new White House report on homeland security said Tuesday.

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Even if this is coming out of the WH, think about the implication.

Square one: Where is bin Laden?

Memo to Bush: bin Laden not Saddam was responsible for 9/11.

Pakistan Eases Curbs on Atomic Scientist

Pakistan against IAEA quizzing A.Q. Khan

By Stephen Graham, Associated Press Writer | September 26, 2007

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan --Pakistan's government on Wednesday rejected a former premier's proposal to let the United Nations question A.Q. Khan, the disgraced nuclear expert who headed a smuggling racket that sold nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

Local media reported that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said Tuesday that if she returned to office she would give the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog direct access to Khan -- a remark likely to stir controversy in the run-up to elections.

Khan is viewed as a national hero for helping develop Pakistan's atomic weapons.

Pakistan has won praise from the United States for its cooperation in shutting down Khan's network after it was exposed in 2004. But President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's refusal to let foreign experts speak directly to Khan has sustained suspicion of a cover-up.

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BCCI, Iran Contra relevance: UAE, Saudi, Pakistan, money and Bush family

Not that any of this matters to the power-hungry Bushies.

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t

[seemslikeadream]

2. BCCI is old news. Marc Rich, AQ Khan? Who cares? Well, apparently SOMEONE

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1228000


BCCI is old news. Marc Rich, AQ Khan? Who cares? Well, apparently SOMEONE

very powerful is looking out for one of the head figures of THE top nuclear proliferation rings identified by Kerry in his BCCI report..

You know - that one of the 20 'outstanding matters' (along with Marc Rich's involvement) that Kerry reported in Dec 1992 BCCI report that required further scrutiny because Poppy Bush had stonewalled that part of the investigation.

Gee - wonder why Poppy would protect a known proliferator.

Wonder why Bush2 isn't calling for Khan to be tried and hung?

Maybe because AQ Khan was working WITH the BFEE and THAT is why Poppy Bush and subsequent administrations always treated him with extraordinary leniency.




Pakistan Lifts Restrictions on Scientist (A.Q. Khan)

Source: Associated Press

Pakistan Lifts Restrictions on Scientist

By MUNIR AHMAD
Monday, July 2, 2007; 4:38 AM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Authorities have eased the virtual house
arrest imposed on A.Q. Khan, the scientist who sold Pakistan's
nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya, officials said Monday.

Khan can now meet friends and relatives at his home in the Pakistani
capital and travel to meet them elsewhere, two senior officials told
The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because
Khan's case remains sensitive.
>>>>>>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070200228.html

[fedupinBushcountry]

3. K&R

:kick:

[beachmom]

4. This is great research, Prosense. BUT what I am looking for

is a direct connection between the Bush family and AQ Khan. Marc Rich, for example, I could connect the pieces: he's in the BCCI report, his lawyer was Scooter Libby, and he was pardoned by Bill Clinton -- BCCI/Bush Admin/Clinton connection. But it seems the Bushes are better at covering their tracks overall?

[ProSense]

5. A.Q. Khan

A.Q. Khan

By Steve Benen

Jul 3, 2007

(Political Animal) A.Q. KHAN....Way back in 2004, during the first Bush-Kerry debate, the president was anxious to convince voters that he's been successful in combating terrorism. Specifically, the president boasted about bringing a notorious Pakistani scientist to justice who was selling nuclear secrets -- design plans and components -- to North Korea.

"We continue to pursue our policy of disrupting those who proliferate weapons of mass destruction. The A.Q. Khan network has been brought to justice," Bush said. He added, "We busted the A.Q. Khan network. This was a proliferator out of Pakistan that was selling secrets to places like North Korea and Libya."

The truth was more complicated than that. Far from bring Khan "to justice," Bush signed off on a deal in which Khan was http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040308fa_fact">slapped on the wrist by Pakistani officials, who were afraid of the political implications of punishing someone considered a hero in much of Pakistan. As for "busting" Khan's network, none of Khan's cohorts have even been charged with a crime.

This week, we learn that Khan is "virtually a free citizen," and has been for "several months." What's more, Spencer Ackerman noted, "Musharraf refused to allow U.S. intelligence officials to question Khan, and Congress has raised questions over whether the proliferation network Khan created is truly out of business."

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From Kerry's opening statement at an SFRC hearing in July:

It is also critically important that the upcoming elections are free and fair, and we should work to ensure they are conducted transparently and legitimately. This will send a very important message of support to the people of Pakistan, who are increasingly insistent on restoring true democratic rule, and will help to undermine extremists. We must also continue to raise our strong concerns over unexplained disappearance of some 400 people, the arrest of hundreds of political activists from opposition parties, and the recent crackdown on the media.

Finally, we must also consider Pakistan’s relationship with India, especially when it comes to Kashmir, the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, and the current status of our efforts to ensure that the proliferation disaster we experienced with the A.Q. Khan network is never repeated.