The Nuclear Jihadist
by Douglas Frantz & Catherine Collins
Published by Twelve Books
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Reviewed by Muhammed Hassanali
Subtitled: The true story of the man who sold the world’s most dangerous secrets and how we could have stopped him.
The events begin in 1972 when Khan started working for a Dutch technology firm that designed and manufactured centrifuges used for enriching uranium. Authors Frantz and Collins describe how he contacted Pakistani diplomats and offered his services to his country. He also displayed such an insatiable curiosity about nuclear related products that some of his coworkers eventually became concerned enough to report him.
In 1975, Khan moved to Pakistan where he set about making his country a nuclear power. As Pakistan realized its nuclear ambitions, Khan accumulated wealth and power and become a national hero in 1998 when Pakistan detonated five nuclear devices underground. By then, Khan had established foreign markets for his expertise and his ability to deliver tightly controlled materials. The “Pakistani Pipeline” (an operation to procure restricted materials and provide technical expertise) had expanded its operations to newer markets.
The U.S. administration ignored the nuclear threat because it needed an ally in the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan and later in the war against terror, after 9/11. The Pakistani authorities arrested Khan in 2003. Parvez Musharraf pardoned him after a written confession and placed him under house arrest. By this time, no one knew who has nuclear capability.
The book is well-written; it reads like a spy novel and its great strength is that it gives so many details that readers can see the complexity of the issue. The authors’ bias that it is bad for nuclear weapons to exist at all does come through, as does their liberal slant on American politics. The authors do not acknowledge that the Iraqi invasion (blunders aside) does curtail nuclear proliferation in the Middle East (something that the authors’ work on Iraq and Libya shows).
The book’s title is misleading. Khan was motivated by wealth and power, not by religious conviction (as one would expect of a “jihadist”). This is made clear as reader read the book.
Overall, it’s a great read, but leaves little room for optimism. It enumerates the dangers we all now face partially due to the cast of characters they profile. What is less clear is what we do now.
Armchair Interviews says: A book that details the dangers that exist worldwide.
Author’s Web site: http://www.TheNuclearJihadist.com