(A cartoon by Angel Boligan, El Universal, Mexico City, Mexico, caglecartoons.com)
While the world leaders watch helplessly, and make meaningless noises, at the brazen manner North Korea has exploded the nuclear device, it is also time to jog our memories.
For full five years the USA and the world leaders knew for sure about the major involvement of Pakistan in clandestinely exchanging nuclear and missile knowhow with rogue states. Why were they silent then? It is like encouraging child lovers to have sexual intercourse and then raising an alarm when the baby has been born!!!
Even the media was crying hoarse about the blatant manner Pakistan was nudging its star nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, to spread the nuclear virus among the rogue states.
The public memory is notoriously short. If the TMV readers are serious about recalling certain important past events leading to the present dangerous developments, then they should visit pakistan-facts web site.
Now we turn to The Telegraph story written in 2004: “The ‘supermarket’, run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of the Pakistani bomb, was ‘the most dangerous phenomenon in proliferation for many years,’ said Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.”
When the heat became unbearable for General Musharraf and he was confronted with unrefutable evidence, the President of Pakistan fudged the issue in his usual masterly fashion, blaming it all on the previous governments. Whereas it was known the world over that A Q Khan could not operate without the consent, support and guidance of the Pakistan army chief, ISI (the secret service) and the military top brass.
But look at the cheeky reply President Musharraf gave when putting A Q Khan under house arrest to put a lid firmly on the scandal that threatened to involve the high and mighty in Pakistan (and perhaps in the USA).
“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.”
For more on this go to The Washington Times.
To find out more about North Korea’s journey to become nuclear power (with China first helping Pakistan, and then Pakistan in turn helping North Korea in providing nuclear knowhow), please visit this website to read the article written two years ago.
Let me quote just two paragraphs:
“Pakistan has become a major diplomatic headache for the Bush Administration. On the one hand, Pakistan is a crucial ally in the war against terrorism. Many analysts suspect Osama Bin Laden is now hiding somewhere in Pakistan; cooperation from Pakistani security and intelligence officials is needed to capture Osama and cut the power of Al Qaeda.
“On the other hand, Pakistan’s ties to North Korea’s nuclear program have violated bilateral assurances to the U.S. Pakistan’s actions also have facilitated a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (North Korea is a signatory) to violate its commitments.”
So what is the point in beating one’s breast when the world for years was watching with open eyes the looming threat instead of nipping the evil in the bud.
Here are the two comments on the above mentioned website (also written two years ago):
“When, not if, the Islamic bomb is used agianst USA/UK, it will have its origins in Pakistan. I will be the first to say serves you jolly well right for ignoring Pakistan’s terrorism against India and its links with Taliban and al Qaida, which are well known but given the blind eye by the USA/UK that continue to indulge this rogue state.”—S.Choudhry, Germany
“The lax American attitude towards Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation activities is nothing short of criminal. It blows my mind that Pakistan sells nuke technology to the North Koreans, who will deploy it against US military personnel in East Asia or maybe in ballistic missiles aimed at the American west coast – and we do nothing. As a matter of fact we send them oodles of taxpayer money. Well, this taxpayer is truly disgusted.”—J.Jones, USA
Is President Bush secretly happy…see the cartoon below…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.