AQ agent offered nuke bomb to Saddam: Book

WASHINGTON, March 10: An agent linked to disgraced Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan had offered Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 1990 a $150 million “nuclear package deal” to build an atomic bomb in three years, according to a new book.

The “package” deal included not only weapon designs but also details of production plants and foreign experts to supervise the building of a nuclear bomb, Mr David Albright, a former UN weapons inspector, said in his book to be released next week, the Washington Post reported. Reporting on the book entitled Peddling Peril — How the Secret Nuclear Trade Arms America’s Enemies, the paper said the newly-uncovered documents suggest that Dr Khan’s offer of nuclear assistance to Saddam was more comprehensive than previously known.

“A 1990 letter attributed to a Khan business associate offered Iraq a chance to leap past technical hurdles to acquire weapons capability,” it said. “Pakistan had to spend a period of 10 years and an amount of $300 million to get it,” begins one of the memos.

“Now, with the practical experience and worldwide contacts Pakistan has developed, you could have ‘A.B.’ in about three years’ time and by spending about $150 million. ‘A.B.’ was understood to mean “atomic bomb,” Mr Albright wrote, adding that aid from the Dr Khan could have accelerated Iraq’s quest for a weapon.