Shopping for Bombs

Description

Shopping for Bombs: Nuclear Proliferation, Global Insecurity, and the Rise and Fall of the A.Q. Khan Network is a non-fiction book written by Gordon Corera and published in 2006. This book chronicles the comprehensive history of the A.Q. Khan nuclear proliferation network, which was behind such illicit spreading of nuclear technology to countries like North Korea, Iran, and Libya.

A.Q. Khan is referred to as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb. His work, however, included much more than working for his nation’s nuclear program alone; he ran an underground organization that sold nuclear secrets and technology on the black market. The book explores how Khan built up this organization, how it worked, and how he was discovered.

Important themes and content include

A.Q. Khan and Nuclear Proliferation The book traces the rise of the national hero in Pakistan, A.Q. Khan, who helped the country develop its nuclear capability, how his greed for wealth and influence made him sell nuclear technology to other nations, and how he evaded detection through personal connections and a web of middlemen, front companies, and secret transactions.

Impact on Global Security : The transfer of nuclear technology to rogue states like North Korea and Iran has made the world tremble at the prospect of nuclear weapons landing up in the hands of hostile governments or terrorist organizations. In this regard, the book is an eye-opener to the vulnerability of the world, especially in unstable regions, with a boom in the nuclear arms trade.

In turn, he examines what role Western intelligence agencies and governments played within the greater scheme of things and how, for years, the activities that Khan was involved in were merely overlooked or not addressed properly. He questions if political and economic interests sometimes took precedence over a number of global security issues.

The Unraveling of the Khan Network: As international pressure was mounted through intelligence operations and diplomatic efforts, the book goes on to describe how the Khan network is exposed and dismantled. It also refers to the aftermath for Khan, Pakistan, and the international efforts at non-proliferation.

Shopping for Bombs is a gripping and detailed narrative of one of the most dangerous underground networks of recent history, shedding light on the complexities of nuclear proliferation, international politics, and global security. It reads like a political thriller but is grounded in real-world events with profound implications for the safety of the world.