Dr. Kahn is a Pakistani nuclear scientist that developed the country’s bomb. In 2004, he confessed to running a secret nuclear proliferation network where he sold nuclear technology to several countries. He was best able to run his service when the government of Pakistan was going through periods of turmoil. Since his confession he has been under house arrest, and there is nothing in the news to indicate a fear that he might escape and reopen his business. He did start a precedent though, which made Pakistan become known as “the hub of the biggest proliferation network in nuclear history” (Sanger n.pag.). The current tumultuous political situation, though, is reminiscent of the conditions under which Kahn’s service flourished. Though it may not be Kahn himself, there may be others who are ready to exploit the situation in a similar way (Sanger).
The current political unrest might disrupt the protections that Musharraf has on the nuclear weapons. He and several top officials that he personally trusts hold the keys to the transportation and deployment of the weapons. The weapons and their detonators are stored separately, and the weapons’ guards are given thorough personal screenings. Many people doubt how secure the weapons are, despite Musharraf’s assurances. In the past he has given overly optimistic reports on the status of security in his country, so it is best to take his casual confidence with a grain of salt.
The dangers now are that a terrorist group could exploit the current chaos to overcome the security measures, or that an fundamentalist Islamic government could come to power (Sanger). The terrorist group might be motivated to use the weapon to make a point, and the fundamentalist governors might being willing to use them and start a nuclear war with India. That would be bad. So the hope lies with the military. The Pakistani military is very professional, according to the New York Times, and the hope is that regardless of the tumult around them, the soldiers will stand strong at their posts and not allow anything unfortunate to happen (Sanger).
Pakistan is a great example of the cross-overs of physics and politics. Kahn, a physicist, was motivated, most likely by greed, to commit the dangerous political act of selling information. He exploited the political situation of the time to do so. Now there is another political situation that might empower someone else to do what Kahn did, or worse, to use a weapon. Political unrest today in a nuclear power means that physics is a threat to the fate of the world.
Sanger, David E. “So, What About Those Nukes?” New York Times. 11 Nov. 2007. NYTimes.com 12 Nov. 2007
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