Hindu Vivek Kendra
A RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE PROMOTION OF HINDUTVA
   
 
 
«« Back
"Artificial Intelligence"

"Artificial Intelligence"

Author: Editorial
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 5, 2004

Wilful western blindness to Pak N-proliferation raises doubts

As George W Bush prepares to order a belated probe into the intelligence fiasco that led to his fictitious pre-war claims about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction (WMD), there has emerged, in another part of the world, a story of intelligence failure so extraordinary that it makes the Iraqi botch-up look almost benign in comparison. Over the past weeks, the world has watched in horror as details have daily emerged about Islamabad's role in the global proliferation of N-technology The finger of blame which first pointed to A Q Khan, the redoubtable head of Pakistan's nuclear programme, has since been directed at the who's who of the country's political and military establishment, including former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the current president General Musharraf and retired top-ranking army commanders: Put simply, Islamabad was passing N-know-how and technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya as early as the mid-1980s. Yet, for well over 15 years, Washington and the West remained wholly oblivious to the threat. No media leak, no informed speculation, not even a whisper that anything might be amiss.

On second thoughts, the silence seems so conspicuously total that it almost rings untrue. Could it be that this was not so much an intelligence lapse as a systematic unwillingness on the part of Washington to face the facts? Pakistan, after all, was for long a key western ally - first for the British and then for the Americans. The reasons: Geographically, it afforded a strategic foothold at the edge of the oil-rich Gulf. Ideologically, it was an important bulwark against the evil influence of communist Russia. It took an event as momentous as 9/11 to break that old mindset. Even in the changed circumstances, however, Islamabad's significance remained undiminished. It was simply redefined. From being a sought-after ally, Islamabad became, almost overnight, a source of grievous threat - a nuclear nation in danger of being overtaken by right wing groups with links to global terror groups. Washington's public show of support for Musharraf, including on the all-important N-proliferation question, is best seen as a tactical choice. Fearful of destabilising Pakistan and pushing it into the hands of extremists, Washington would rather back the general, in the long-term hope that he'd eventually hand over control of the Pak N-programme. With Pakistan so much in 9/11 focus, could it be that the American war in Iraq was designed not so much to disarm a brutal but toothless dictator as to send a stern warning to Islamabad on its wilful N-proliferation? Maybe conspiracy theorists will ask Tom Clancy to solve this mystery in his next thriller.
 


Back                          Top

«« Back
 
 
 
  Search Articles
 
  Special Annoucements