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Ex-CIA Officer Says Pakistan’s Nuclear Quest Became an ‘Islamic Bomb’ Under A.Q. Khan

In a new interview, Richard Barlow says U.S. Cold War choices let A.Q. Khan shift a deterrent program into a proliferation enterprise.

Overview

  • Barlow tells ANI that Pakistan’s deterrent effort against India evolved into an export‑oriented “Islamic bomb” under A.Q. Khan.
  • He alleges Khan’s network provided Iran early‑1990s gas‑centrifuge technology that underpins Tehran’s enrichment program.
  • He says U.S. administrations tolerated Pakistan’s proliferation for more than two decades, citing Afghan war priorities described in a Brzezinski memo.
  • He says India and Israel discussed a pre‑emptive strike on the Kahuta enrichment site in the early 1980s, a plan Indira Gandhi did not approve.
  • He recounts two flashpoints: U.S. intelligence in 1990 spotting nuclear weapons on Pakistani F‑16s, and a 1987 maraging‑steel sting he claims was compromised after a warning to Islamabad.