Agents of Nuclear Black Market Were C.I.A. Assets

In what was to become a major international scandal, it became known publicly that A.Q. Khan had organized a huge international nuclear black market, supplying materials and plans to countries such as North Korea, Iran, and Libya. Pakistan's nuclear program was under the control of the military, and as many analysts observed, Musharraf's denials that Khan's ring had received official sanction strained credulity.

What became apparent was that Washington had struck yet another deal with Pakistan in which it would agree to Khan being made a scapegoat in exchange for Pakistan's continuing ostensible support in the "war on terrorism." Musharraf denied that the proliferation network had any official sanction and Khan echoed the official line and claimed all responsibility.  For his part, Khan was pardoned by Musharraf. Pakistan avoided heavy international criticism and sanctions for nuclear proliferation. And Washington was saved yet another major embarrassment.

The Review reported earlier this month that

Earlier this year, however, after the election of the new government and marginalization of Musharraf, Khan recanted his earlier "confession" that he acted alone without state knowledge or sponsorship. Just recently, amid the increasing pressure being placed on the Pakistan government by the US, a gag order was issued against Khan barring him from making public statements about the nuclear network.

The US itself has gagged former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds from speaking out to tell her story. As a contract employee of the FBI responsible for translating sensitive documents, Edmonds not only called the Bush administration claim that there were no warnings of an impending attack on 9/11 an outrageous lie, but has also stated that she was approached by a mole working within the FBI to become part of a ring involved in the international nuclear black market.

During the 1980s, the CIA used the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), founded in Pakistan, as a front for its dealings in the Iran-Contra affair, which included money laundering, arms smuggling, and drug trafficking. It's possible, even likely, that the bank was also used in conjunction with the CIA's support for the mujahedeen during the same period. The BCCI was essentially a front bank for international criminal and terrorist organizations and its activities included, according to a Senate investigation, the sale of nuclear technologies.

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