Nuclear Black Markets: Pakistan, A.Q. Khan and the rise of proliferation networks
A net assessment
To be released on May 8, 2008: By International Institute for Strategic Studies
The Dossier is a reference text for governments, international organisations, academics and media worldwide on the state of knowledge about illicit nuclear technology and material trafficking over the past four decades.
The Dossier provides a compelling history of the most famous of these networks: the global enterprise run by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. The technology that Khan and his associates sold to North Korea and Iran sparked crises that continue to threaten international security. Among other mysteries, the Dossier explores the question of whether A.Q. Khan sold North Korea and Iran the weapons designs that he sold to Libya and apparently offered to Iraq.
The Dossier details how Pakistan developed a nuclear weapons capability in ten years after Khan brought stolen technology for the enrichment of uranium from the Netherlands. Though the Pakistani government put Khan out of business and reformed its nuclear command and control mechanisms, many consider the case not yet closed.
The Dossier collates what is known about other illicit procurement programmes, some of which remain in existence. It concludes with a menu of options for policies and actions that states and international organisations could adopt to prevent nuclear black markets in the future.
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