Blueprint for nuclear warhead found on smugglers' computers

And there's a nice, cheery headline for you late risers to start the day with.

<blockquote>WASHINGTON — American and international investigators say that they have found the electronic blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon on computers that belonged to the nuclear smuggling network run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the rogue Pakistani nuclear scientist, but that they have not been able to determine whether they were sold to Iran or the smuggling ring’s other customers.

The plans appear to closely resemble a nuclear weapon that was built by Pakistan and first tested exactly a decade ago. But when confronted with the design by officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency last year, Pakistani officials insisted that Dr. Khan, who has been lobbying in recent months to be released from the loose house arrest that he has been under since 2004, did not have access to Pakistan’s weapons designs.</blockquote>

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/world/asia/15nuke.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

More coverage (including the headline I stole) here, from The Guardian.

 

Every time I read about this guy Khan, I think of Bond movies where the evil villain is a "rogue scientist." This is one of the few real-world examples of such a person.

 

Loose House Arrest = We Aren't Really Keeping An Eye On This Guy