Deception: British Reporter Adrian Levy on How the United States Secretly Helped Pakistan Build Its Nuclear Arsenal

Democracy Now

Adrian Levy examines how five consecutive US administrations from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush have been complicit in building and protecting Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Levy’s is co-author of the new book: “Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons.”

In Pakistan, up to 100 people have been killed in clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the country’s northwestern border region with Afghanistan. While Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf continued to defend his imposition of martial law as a necessary defense against Islamist militants from the same region, American military officials are reportedly considering a classified proposal to arm tribes from this area against Al Qaeda.

Analysts suggest that the US is concerned over the rising threat of instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan and worried about the safety and security of the country’s nuclear weapons. The New York Times revealed Sunday that the US has been using a $100 million dollar program to secretly help Pakistan guard its nuclear arsenal.

Adrian Levy is senior staff correspondent with the Guardian newspaper in the UK. He is the co-author of a new book on how Pakistan became a nuclear power. It’s called “Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons.” It discusses how five consecutive US administrations from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush have been complicit in building and protecting Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.......