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'Libya got N-technology from Dr AQ Khan'
 Libya did not get nuclear warhead documents from China but from Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan's supplier network, Washington Times reported on Thursday, quoting a United States State Department official on condition of anonymity.China gave Pakistan nuclear weapons technology and equipment in the 1980s as part of a strategic effort to counter India's nuclear weapons. Dr Khan then took the Chinese documents and supplied them to Libya as part of a package provided by his private nuclear supplier network. Iran and North Korea, also Dr Khan's customers, the official was quoted as saying. The documents are now stored in a secret vault at the Energy Department's Oak Ridge, Tennessee, facility along with other nuclear equipment given up by the Libyans. The documents were described as large blueprints that technically are considered primitive and are incomplete but explain how to develop a nuclear device small enough to fit on the tip of a missile. If the Libyans had tried to detonate a nuclear device based on the design, they likely would have caused a serious accident, US officials told Washington Times. Chinese embassy spokesman Wang Baodong said the issue of the documents was "delicate" but that he had no knowledge of whether the matter was investigated by the Chinese government. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in 2004 that the government was concerned about reports of the documents found in Libya and was trying to learn more. Posted by: Fred 2008-09-12 |
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