1115.org

The so-called mainstream media had a fine time yesterday venting outrage at the fact that Jon Benet Ramsey murder suspect John Mark Karr was flown by business class from Thailand to L.A., and dined on king prawns and champagne.

No doubt any day now they will catch on to the bigger scandal concerning A.Q. Khan, “disgraced” Pakistani nuclear scientist who has been living in luxurious “house arrest” in a ritzy suburb of Islamabad since he was outed for running a nuclear arms bazaar on the side for axis-of-evil countries, without Pakistani government sanction or knowledge, while heading their nuclear program.

He was allowed to keep all his wealth (including, if you can believe it, the money he made in the nuclear arms bazaar; this money, of course, had never been declared by him for tax purposes; it is not even clear that he was ever made to pay taxes on this income, let alone being subjected to tax penalties). He has never been allowed to be interrogated by International Atomic Energy Agency investigators, or the U.S., or anyone else.

Dr. Khan has apparently developed prostate cancer. The Reuters story about this news demonstrates perfectly the depths of the disgrace that Dr. A. Q. Khan lives in:

Disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who confessed to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, is suffering from prostate cancer, the government said on Tuesday.

Khan, revered in Pakistan as the father of its atomic bomb, has been under house arrest in the capital, Islamabad, since an investigation was launched against him in 2003 after he confessed to passing on nuclear secrets.

A routine medical examination in early August detected a slightly raised level of a prostate serum and further tests were conducted, the government said in a statement.

“The results have unfortunately indicated adino carcinoma (cancer) of prostate,” the government said.

“Since the health of Dr A. Q. Khan is of public interest, the government of Pakistan would like to hold out an assurance that the best specialist medical care is being provided,” it said.

U.S. and other foreign investigators looking into nuclear proliferation have not been allowed to meet Khan to question him about his activities.

Pakistan has said it has shared all relevant information about Khan’s proliferation with the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency.

Khan, 70, was doing well, his wife said.

“He is fine. He accepts whatever is coming,” Henny Khan told Reuters.

“A certain line of treatment has been suggested and accepted by us, so the procedure will follow. Please pray for us,” she said.

President Pervez Musharraf has described Khan’s confession as one of the embarrassing events of his presidency.

The government sacked Khan as a special adviser after his confession but Musharraf pardoned him because of his role in making Pakistan a nuclear state.

Pakistan tested nuclear weapons in 1998, weeks after arch-rival India conducted similar tests.

Does it perhaps appear to you too that Dr. Khan is still very much revered by the Pakistan government?

Also noteworthy is the fact that the Bush administration has studiously managed to look the other way for the last three years, and to accept every pronouncement made by Pakistan at face value with a straight face.

This man has done more to make the world unsafe than almost any other human being now alive (I am, of course, thinking of President Bush when I say that). And we have assiduously cooperated with Pakistan’s determination to protect him from scrutiny and from justice.

Previously:
December 5, 2005: Pakistan…
March 29, 2006: Saudi Arabia Acquiring A Nuclear Bomb?
May 13, 2006: A.Q. Khan Strikes Again