The nuclear jihadist; the true story of the man who sold the world's most dangerous secrets and how we could have stopped him

By: Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins (www.thenuclearjihadist.com)
Twelve Books; Hachette Book Group, USA (www.HachetteBookGroupUSA.com)

I had the opportunity to meet with the authors and talk about their book. The writers of this book are both experienced authors as well as reporters. They are also a husband and wife team. Their experience in investigative journalism and their access to contacts as members of the media were evident in the book. This book is the true story of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani scientist, who became the father of the Islamic bomb. Khan's initial quest was to obtain the nuclear bomb to match the one that India, Pakistan's arch enemy, had produced. However those nations who held the key to the technology and equipment realized the potential dangers to the rest of the world if certain rogue nations and terrorist groups were able to get access to nuclear weapons. That is why the USA, other countries, the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) worked to control the spread of weapons technology and to get countries involved in nuclear Non-Proliferation treaties. Yet, Khan's quest went far beyond just obtaining a bomb for Pakistan; he wanted to be the father of the Islamic bomb for other Muslim countries. While Khan was dedicated to helping his Muslim brothers, he was not averse to becoming rich in the process and being willing to sell his wares to anyone with the money. While Khan was the center of these operations, he needed a huge network of people and companies around the globe to move knowledge and equipment to his many customers within the nuclear black market. But trafficking in the nuclear black market is not like trafficking in drugs. The world stage changed after 9/11 and the situations with Iran, North Korea, Iraq and others become impossible to ignore. In normal cases different agencies would get together to match up their pieces to complete the puzzle. But in this case it was not that simple and different agencies and countries had their own agendas. The IAEA had its concerns yet did not have any real authority to take action. The CIA had its information from its sources but wanted to let the situation play and the White House refused to pressure Pakistan to rein in Khan since they needed them in the battle against terrorism. The book is an easy read and is well researched and includes many notes involving a lot of excellent background information. An excellent book, yet the story is not over.

Elliott Grollman
Maj. Usar ( Ret.)
Adjunct Professor

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