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Buying Nations Reported Sale of Pakistani Nuclear Info
Aired February 04, 2004 - 13:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: For more on the fallout and reaction to this (UNINTELLIGIBLE), let's go to our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. She is in London. Christiane, why the public apology?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was information and evidence provided to the Pakistani president, to the highest authorities, by the United States and by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, that led to the investigation in the first place.
And that information came from countries such as Iran and Libya who were stepping up their cooperation with the IAEA, saying that they had received parts and -- other parts of technology and know-how from Pakistan and middlemen associated with that.
So that was the investigation in how it started. And after years of denying that there was any proliferation going on in Pakistan, from the government or from individuals, Pervez Musharraf himself, not a few weeks ago, told CNN that, in fact this could have been going on. He was waiting for the results of the investigation.
But he insisted that if it was going on, which now we know it was, it was only by individuals for what he called personal gain and ambition. He insisted that neither he nor any government official, nor any military official, either knew of or sanctioned this kind of nuclear proliferation.
And Dr. Khan said that, essentially, in his statement today. He absolved the government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDUL QADEER KHAN, PAKISTAN NUKE CHIEF: It pains me to realize (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that my entire lifetime achievement of providing foolproof (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to my nation could have been placed in serious jeopardy on account of my activities which were based in good faith but on errors of judgment related to unauthorized proliferation activities.
I wish to place on record that those (UNINTELLIGIBLE) who have accepted their roll in the affair were acting in good faith like me on my instructions.
I also wish to clarify that there was never, ever any kind of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for these activities by the government. I take full responsibility for my actions and seek your pardon. (END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So this highly scripted confession appears to put Dr. Khan right at the center of what the IAEA is now calling an international, private sector, black market in nuclear technology and weapons designs and other nuclear know-how.
And, indeed, they have found, the IAEA, nuclear weapons blueprint in Libya, after Libya decided to disarm. These blueprints have been taken out of the country by the United States and now stored for safe- keeping in the United States.
The IAEA telling us that now that this explosive admission has happened, that a top nuclear scientist in a nuclear state has admitted to proliferating, now their top priority is to try to determine how much more of this know-how technology, blueprints for nuclear weapons, has got out and to what other countries, other than those that had been admitted by Pakistan now, North Korea, Iran and Libya. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: Christiane, quickly, what was in this for Dr. Khan? Financial gain?
AMANPOUR: Well, it's hard to tell. I mean, analysts do say, and those who have observed Dr. Khan, that he did have quite a lavish home, and certainly kind of a very privileged place in society.
But it's hard to tell exactly what was the motive. And he hasn't actually spelled it out. He said in his statement, "I did it in good faith. Error of judgment, but I did it in good faith."
So it's very difficult. And I think that will be a focus of the continued investigation, as well as how far this proliferation was known and by whom in the hierarchy in Pakistan if it went beyond him.
PHILLIPS: Christiane Amanpour, live from London.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 4, 2004 - 13:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: For more on the fallout and reaction to this (UNINTELLIGIBLE), let's go to our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. She is in London. Christiane, why the public apology?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was information and evidence provided to the Pakistani president, to the highest authorities, by the United States and by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, that led to the investigation in the first place.
And that information came from countries such as Iran and Libya who were stepping up their cooperation with the IAEA, saying that they had received parts and -- other parts of technology and know-how from Pakistan and middlemen associated with that.
So that was the investigation in how it started. And after years of denying that there was any proliferation going on in Pakistan, from the government or from individuals, Pervez Musharraf himself, not a few weeks ago, told CNN that, in fact this could have been going on. He was waiting for the results of the investigation.
But he insisted that if it was going on, which now we know it was, it was only by individuals for what he called personal gain and ambition. He insisted that neither he nor any government official, nor any military official, either knew of or sanctioned this kind of nuclear proliferation.
And Dr. Khan said that, essentially, in his statement today. He absolved the government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDUL QADEER KHAN, PAKISTAN NUKE CHIEF: It pains me to realize (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that my entire lifetime achievement of providing foolproof (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to my nation could have been placed in serious jeopardy on account of my activities which were based in good faith but on errors of judgment related to unauthorized proliferation activities.
I wish to place on record that those (UNINTELLIGIBLE) who have accepted their roll in the affair were acting in good faith like me on my instructions.
I also wish to clarify that there was never, ever any kind of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for these activities by the government. I take full responsibility for my actions and seek your pardon. (END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So this highly scripted confession appears to put Dr. Khan right at the center of what the IAEA is now calling an international, private sector, black market in nuclear technology and weapons designs and other nuclear know-how.
And, indeed, they have found, the IAEA, nuclear weapons blueprint in Libya, after Libya decided to disarm. These blueprints have been taken out of the country by the United States and now stored for safe- keeping in the United States.
The IAEA telling us that now that this explosive admission has happened, that a top nuclear scientist in a nuclear state has admitted to proliferating, now their top priority is to try to determine how much more of this know-how technology, blueprints for nuclear weapons, has got out and to what other countries, other than those that had been admitted by Pakistan now, North Korea, Iran and Libya. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: Christiane, quickly, what was in this for Dr. Khan? Financial gain?
AMANPOUR: Well, it's hard to tell. I mean, analysts do say, and those who have observed Dr. Khan, that he did have quite a lavish home, and certainly kind of a very privileged place in society.
But it's hard to tell exactly what was the motive. And he hasn't actually spelled it out. He said in his statement, "I did it in good faith. Error of judgment, but I did it in good faith."
So it's very difficult. And I think that will be a focus of the continued investigation, as well as how far this proliferation was known and by whom in the hierarchy in Pakistan if it went beyond him.
PHILLIPS: Christiane Amanpour, live from London.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
