International inspectors fear that nuclear weapons components and specialized tools were diverted from Libya and sent to another country. The 2003 shipment was initially meant for a secret $100-million, uranium enrichment plant and bomb factory being built for Libya by Pakistan's A.Q. Khan and his associates, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. But it never arrived and International Atomic Energy Agency officials fear it went to an unidentified customer seeking to build nuclear bombs. Libya has since given up on its nuclear bomb making plans. IAEA staffers are working out of an office in Vienna to find the missing components and tools. They are being supported by intelligence officials and prosecutors from other countries, including the United States, Germany, Britain, France, South Africa and Switzerland. To date, seven people have been taken into custody in Dubai, Germany, Malaysia, South Africa and Switzerland. The location of the missing items remains a mystery.
(cough) Iran (cough) |