CRIME DOES NOT PAY
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James Joyner | Sunday, February 8, 2004 |
President Pervez Musharraf has pledged that the disgraced founder of Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons program can keep the vast wealth he accumulated selling atom bomb-making technology to rogue states around the world.
Gen. Musharraf, just days after provoking worldwide consternation by pardoning Abdul Qadeer Khan for supplying nuclear expertise to Libya, Iran and North Korea, said in an interview with the London Sunday Telegraph that the scientist’s property or assets also would be spared.
“He can keep his money,” Gen. Musharraf said, adding that there had been good reason not to investigate the origin of Mr. Khan’s suspicious wealth before 1998, when Pakistan successfully tested its first nuclear weapon.
“We wanted the bomb in the national interest, and so you have to ask yourself whether you act against the person who enabled you to get the bomb.”
Mr. Khan is believed to have earned millions of dollars from his sale of nuclear know-how, beginning in the late 1980s. Much of the money was funneled through bank accounts in the Middle East.
Lovely.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Comments
Yeah well-- It came down to Khan could give up the money or Musharraf would have to give up his life.
It really was a no brainer for Musharraf.
Posted by Paul | February 8, 2004 | 01:03 pm | Permalink
And the is 'ally' we have to have on our side to make a serious search for Osama? I shudder to imagine what sort of fellating he's going to get to ensure Osama's found before November...
Posted by legion | February 8, 2004 | 01:40 pm | Permalink
And the is 'ally' we have to have on our side to make a serious search for Osama? I shudder to imagine what sort of fellating he's going to get to ensure Osama's found before November...
Posted by legion | February 8, 2004 | 01:44 pm | Permalink
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