The nuclear pursuit for eternal national survival, September 13, 2006
Does the author exaggerate, take sides, or attempt to provide an accurate account? The author is British, working for the BBC. That characterizes his style of higher accuracy and perseverance, and less inflammatory tone, than some American zealots. The author has little to gain from appealing to conservatives or liberals for future political advance. The book is well referenced, and the references are also well utilized. It is written and searched in the form of theoretical thesis on the secretive campaign of building nuclear weapons by Pakistan and Iran in the shadows of Russia, China, and North Korea. In such theoretical context, the author has the liberty to hypothesize missing links as long as he communicates his reasoning. The author unconsciously and occasionally takes sides, especially in his empathy with the intelligence folks. For example, he claims that Barlaw's objection on the sales of F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan caused unfair termination of his job and loss to intelligence, in favor of strategic politics. The author thus dismisses the highly specialized opinion of the experts that those airplanes couldn't be altered due to their complex wiring and computer system. The author repeats the same sympathetic stand, with Barlaw, in his arrest to a Pakistani agent pursuing the purchase of maraging steel, by dismissing the fact that Barlaw did not have definitive proof that the pursued marag steel was specifically intended for the rotors of the centrifuges. The author even exaggerates by claiming that the Pakistani agent was so dumb to admit that the steel was going to Kahuta's plant. Then there is an unexplained account of how an American convoy that visited Kahuta to explore the Khan's clandestine laboratory, could not find what they were looking for, despite traveling on land and in Jeeps in the secretive town. One ridiculous account made by the author is the arrest of one of Khan's past colleagues for carrying an oscilloscope in his luggage in a trip to Pakistan. As if the oscilloscope were a high tech military ware. Despite the author's admission that the story is far from being totally known, he interjects many accounts to extrapolate events and fill gaps in situations where evidence lacks. The author's difficulty is apparent in realizing or recognizing the great depth of theoretical capabilities of the third world scientists. Attributing the design of the centrifuges or the bombs to the Chinese or European source is weakly supported, in view of the advances made by Khan's team in other military applications. Blue-prints of highly technical matters do not do good to someone without deep knowledge on how to compile and modify it. The theme of the book centers on how Khan was exposed to the idea of the feasibility of accomplishing esoteric results out of radioisotope separation by gas centrifuge. It then proceeded to claim his spying and stealth of the European design of the centrifuge. That led to avoiding the Plutonium route, which is detectable, expensive, and subject to international pressure. That Khan's experience with the U235 enrichment offered Pakistan the clandestine and cheap access to fissile fuel. With the cheap and resourceful pool of scientists, Khan was able to build a prosperous laboratory, find the finance, and expand his science to other applications. Khan's life-long pursuit for living in a country, safe from genocide, let him seek all means to accomplish his goal. His early childhood's memory of genocide, during the independence of Pakistan in 1948, had been ingrained into his psyche. The 1972's defeat of Pakistan by its old enemy renewed his traumatic memories of genocide. Hadn't li ved in Holland and worked in a laboratory of centrifuges, he might have never followed the nuclear trail. Here. Khan found a parallel in the empowerment of western nations by nuclear weapon, which could fulfill his hope. Why did Khan succeed when others failed? 1- Pakistan is country with its own language, race, limited space and population (in terms of Asian standards). Despite its Islamic beliefs, it is separate from Arab and Persian races and confronts massive Indian power. 2- The long occupation by Great Britain, followed by the rise of India and threat of expansion of communistic Russia to the South, towards the warm oceans, all make Pakistan insecure and vulnerable. That justified to Khan his endeavor for his nation's survival. 3- Israel's success for deceiving the world and possessing the bomb gave hope to a greater Pakistan to do the same. 4- Long before the Nuclear age, Western colonialists had imposed on their colonies restraints on the size of armies and owning heavy weapons. Only guns, pistols, and horses were allowed in order to deprive the occupied people from seeking independence. That hardened the mistrust of newly independent nations towards greater powers. 5- Whether the European suppliers of high tech were fooled by Khan or were smarter to sell technology that might never be used, is questionable. They got the money, Khan get the security. The F-16' have never been used to drop the bomb as Barlaw theorized and thus politicians prevailed. One might wander of how human civilization has endured those millions of years without the nuclear deterrent? Had overpopulation or scarcity of energy sources been the driving force for conflicts, wouldn't nuclear energy diminish that drive, instead of amplifying it? Unfortunately ghosts like Slobodan Malosovitch, Kim II Sung, Saddam Hussein, and Adolf Hitler have greatly diminished mankind's trust in playing with the atom. The book thus sets to search global security through published literature on the Pakistani scientist without have inside knowledge on the exact means of his accomplishments.
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