Product Description
The shocking, three-decade story of A. Q. Khan and Pakistan?s nuclear program, and the complicity of the United States in the spread of nuclear weaponry.
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On December 15, 1975, A. Q. Khan?a young Pakistani scientist working in Holland?stole top-secret blueprints for a revolutionary new process to arm a nuclear bomb. His original intention, and that of his government, was purely patriotic?to provide Pakistan a counter to India?s recently unveiled nuclear device. However, as Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark chillingly relate in their masterful investigation of Khan?s career over the past thirty years, over time that limited ambition mushroomed into the world?s largest clandestine network engaged in selling nuclear secrets?a mercenary and illicit program managed by the Pakistani military and made possible, in large part, by aid money from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Libya, and by indiscriminate assistance from China.
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On December 15, 1975, A. Q. Khan?a young Pakistani scientist working in Holland?stole top-secret blueprints for a revolutionary new process to arm a nuclear bomb. His original intention, and that of his government, was purely patriotic?to provide Pakistan a counter to India?s recently unveiled nuclear device. However, as Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark chillingly relate in their masterful investigation of Khan?s career over the past thirty years, over time that limited ambition mushroomed into the world?s largest clandestine network engaged in selling nuclear secrets?a mercenary and illicit program managed by the Pakistani military and made possible, in large part, by aid money from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Libya, and by indiscriminate assistance from China.
Most unnerving, the authors reveal that the sales of nuclear weapons technology to Iran, North Korea, and Libya, so much in the news today, were made with the clear knowledge of the American government, for whom Pakistan has been a crucial buffer state and ally?first against the Soviet Union, now in the ?war against terror.? Every successive American presidency, from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush, has turned a blind eye to Pakistan?s nuclear activity?rewriting and destroying evidence provided by its intelligence agencies, lying to Congress and the American people about Pakistan?s intentions and capability, and facilitating, through shortsightedness and intent, the spread of the very weapons we vilify the ?axis of evil? powers for having and fear terrorists will obtain. Deception puts our current standoffs with Iran and North Korea in a startling new perspective, and makes clear two things: that Pakistan, far from being an ally, is a rogue nation at the epicenter of world destabilization; and that the complicity of the United States has ushered in a new nuclear winter.
Based on hundreds of interviews in the United States, Pakistan, India, Israel, Europe, and Southeast Asia, Deception is a masterwork of reportage and dramatic storytelling by two of the world?s most resourceful investigative journalists. Urgently important, it should stimulate debate and command a reexamination of our national priorities.
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This is an excellent exposition of Pakistani thievery and deception, along with U.S. complicity. If Carter, Reagan, Bush senior, and Clinton had read the Koran, we would never have gotten into our current mess, because they would not have allowed Pakistan to build “The Islamic Bomb.”
The fact is that Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world, as Newsweek magazine recently proclaimed on its cover. It got that way because it was born out of fanaticism, and survived by double talk and deception.
Unfortunately, our past failure to read and understand the Koran (please see sites such as […] for further information) may well result in a Pakistani nuke going off in a major American city, possibly aided by a Pakistani engineering student here who has connections back home with a jihadi military officer.
If Pakistan splits into several smaller countries, it will be easier to defang the country of its nukes, but it will also make it easier for small-scale terror outfits to spring up.
Added 12/29/07: This book is now even more important following the assassination of Bhutto. Nobody in the U.S. seems to realize that the most important duty of the civilized world right now is control of Pakistani nukes. This is something that the U.S., Europe, and Russia could all cooperate on, and would be a greater achievement in my mind than a joint mission to Mars. There are no discussions going on anywhere about what world powers would do if Pakistan falls apart.
Added 4/15/08: It seems that US officials are finally waking up to the Pakistani nuke threat. A report today in Times of India indicates that the US is trying to set up a direct liaison between itself and the Pakistani Nuclear Command Authority, but this is being met with great resistance by the Pakistani government. US pressure is more likely to succeed if Europe and Russia get involved. India should stay out of this situation because of the risk of Pakistani retaliation.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a book that can’t help but make the reader a little more cynical when they look at the U.S. government and a foreign policy that continually sacrifices the long term needs for short term gains. The one aspect of this sordid story that probably produces the most cynicism is the way in which this short view of foreign policy seems to dominate through successive administrations in both political parties. The fact that both parties seem to end up with a telescopic view of the world does not bode well for any changes that might remedy this flawed outlook.
I will say that I came into this work with a certain amount of misconception. In coming to this book I was expecting to find a definitive work that detailed what came to be known as the Khan network, instead I found that this story was actually peripheral to the main story they detail which was the relationship between Pakistan and the U.S.. I was impressed with the scope and the depth of this work, and the way in which they detail just how duplicitous the U.S. was throughout the decades Pakistan developed their nuclear program. What was amazing to discover is how easily successive administrations could fall into a tunnel vision approach to this Third World nation so much so that Pakistan could basically get away with anything as long as they served an immediate need for any given administration.
The similarities between the Reagan and Bush II administrations were striking, and it displayed as well as anything else how little we actually learn from past mistakes. Both Reagan and Bush II ignored the long term strategic picture in order to achieve short term gains. For Reagan the nuclear proliferation took a back seat to striking another blow against the Soviets, but because of the focus on the short term goal of striking that blow against the enemy of today he helped create the enemies of tomorrow. With the carte blanche given Pakistan for their help in Afghanistan a proliferation regime was set up that would greatly disturb the balance of the Middle East, and would help to create the very groups we would be at war with two decades later. Bush II on the other hand gave up any leverage for an ally in name only. As Musharraf paid lip service to Bush’s war on terror he continued the Army’s proliferation of nuclear technologies to some of our biggest enemies, and he continued to cultivate those very same terror networks that would kill so many in Afghanistan and would eventually blowback into Pakistan helping to destabilize this nuclear power. Once again we took our eyes off the long term strategy for short term goals.
For me the much more important story here was the connection between Pakistan and all of these groups we, and oddly enough Pakistan itself now, are in conflict with. This book details the failures of both Pakistan and the U.S. in this regard. The U.S. ignored the fact that Pakistan was creating a Frankenstein’s monster in both Afghanistan and Kashmir that would eventually turn on the West and its creator. This monster has wreaked havoc on one of the U.S.’s most important allies of the future in India not to mention destabilized the entire region along with costing the U.S. in enormous amounts of treasure, material and the irreplaceable men and women who make up our armed forces.
This book is nothing if not a call to realize the failures of the shortsightedness of the past, and a call to arms for us to demand from our leaders our more thoughtful and long term strategy that considers the world of tomorrow as well as the problems of today. While this book induces a certain amount of cynicism, I am still optimistic that we can learn from these mistakes to create a more stable future. This book and books like it are an important step in that direction. This book shows us the mistakes made. It is up to us to learn from those mistakes to forge a better future.
Rating: 5 / 5
This book precisely details the failures of six US administrations and major World powers in preventing nuclear proliferation. It shows that our government’s first priority is monetary gains for its closest supporters rather than the protection of its citizens. It shows the complicity of the US and many Major Powers in getting the nuclear bomb and technology for Pakistan and how a blind eye was turned as it was distributed through Middle East and Africa. It reveals with supportive documents the poor leadership and vision of many of our honored politicians. It details how the Pakistani leadership has always worked and supported Al Qaeda. It confirms that the political rehtoric is completely opposite of the real profit driven actions by governments. It is a must read for those who have long questioned the efficiency and effectiveness of our two party system.
Rating: 5 / 5
The fact that the authors of Deception thank Peter Griffen in the acknowledgments of their book raises questions of credibility. In Deception, the authors quote him as saying he was duped and taken advantage of by the Khan network. Another recently released book on the subject, America and the Islamic Bomb, contradicts this portrayal and reveals that a secret British Customs paper says that Griffen was aware and involved in the network’s shipments to Libya. How much did the authors of Deception rely on alleged nuclear proliferators for information?
Furthermore, the authors attribute allegations about Pakistani officials to journalist and academic Husain Haqqani, including the story that former ISI Chief Hamid Gul was in league with Osama bin Laden and Nawaz Sharif to overthrow Benazir Bhutto in 1990. Haqqani has since denied and contradicted many of these allegations in the media.
These are only a few of the most egregious examples that I found in this book.
Rating: 2 / 5
Some will argue in favor of this book calling it an honest account of what happened / happens in Pakistan and some will call this book hogwash and propaganda. I believe this book has some semblence of honesty and a fair bit of it could be propaganda but assuming this book is truthful in its assessment – what a tale it is !
Well researched and written with great passion. this book is ideal material for a movie one day.
Rating: 5 / 5