# nuclear weapons plansfor sale! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2008, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997 "2008-06-15T12:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/1 "2008-06-15T12:15:03Z")
According to the International Atomic Energy Commission and the Swiss Government, Pakistan’s Dr. Khan had available advanced nuclear weapons plans. > **[BBC NEWS | South Asia | Fears over nuclear weapon plans](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7455249.stm)** > > An ex-UN arms inspector says a smuggling ring acquired blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon, a newspaper reports. These are not the plans for a basic nuc-but a more modern compact package that can be carried by a missile. The article didn’t mention whose drawings they were-Soviet, US, British, French, Chinese-or Other. The Dope is a smart place with a lot of smart people, can anyone speculate as to where these plans came from? I recognize that those folks here who may know probably can’t talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/2 "2008-06-15T12:22:30Z")
The rumors that I’ve heard say China. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/3 "2008-06-15T12:53:20Z")
I don’t get it, why can’t it just be a Pakistani design? Pakistan has nuclear tipped ballistic missiles. In anycase, I don’t see where the article you linked to says the plans are non-Pakistani. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/4 "2008-06-15T14:20:21Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] I don’t get it, why can’t it just be a Pakistani design? Pakistan has nuclear tipped ballistic missiles. [/QUOTE] It took a huge amount of money, research, development, and testing to go from the first weapons designs to modern nuclear weapon designs. The alternative is to buy it or steal it. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/5 "2008-06-15T15:01:30Z")
I do not know to what extent Pakistan’s nuclear warheads are completely unique, but there is no doubt that China has over the years provided considerable expertise and material for Pakistan’s nuclear power and probably weapons programs. [Cite.](http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB114/press.htm) But Pakistan does indeed have a self-sufficient nuclear weapons complex at this point, and I don’t see any reason why AQ Khan would have been providing expertise and drawing for anything other than Pakistani weapons, regardless of the origin and assistance in creating that indigenous program. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/6 "2008-06-15T16:05:29Z")
I don’t get it… this Khan guy is obviously a threat to world peace and non-proliferation. Why don’t we or the Israelis assassinate him and take him out of the equation? Not that I’m actually generally in favor of assassination, but this guy has it coming. ---
**Author:** ![Mongo\_Ponton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mongo\_Ponton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongo_Ponton)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/7 "2008-06-15T20:38:37Z")
Do they take Paypal? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/8 "2008-06-15T21:11:03Z")
[QUOTE=mks57] It took a huge amount of money, research, development, and testing to go from the first weapons designs to modern nuclear weapon designs. The alternative is to buy it or steal it. [/QUOTE] India has developed missile mountable nukes in approximately the same time frame. Did they buy or steal it as well? If so, from whom? I can’t imagine China would help them. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/9 "2008-06-15T22:05:46Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] I don’t get it, why can’t it just be a Pakistani design? Pakistan has nuclear tipped ballistic missiles. In anycase, I don’t see where the article you linked to says the plans are non-Pakistani. [/QUOTE] that is certainly the simplest explanation. Though my WAG is that Khan was too closely tied to the Pakistani military to try to sell any of their secrets. But you are correct, in the absence of any other evidence, the simplest explanation is usually the best. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-weapons-plansfor-sale/452997/10 "2008-06-16T11:44:10Z")
[QUOTE=rbroome] According to the International Atomic Energy Commission and the Swiss Government, Pakistan’s Dr. Khan had available advanced nuclear weapons plans. > **[BBC NEWS | South Asia | Fears over nuclear weapon plans](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7455249.stm)** > > An ex-UN arms inspector says a smuggling ring acquired blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon, a newspaper reports. These are not the plans for a basic nuc-but a more modern compact package that can be carried by a missile. The article didn’t mention whose drawings they were-Soviet, US, British, French, Chinese-or Other. The Dope is a smart place with a lot of smart people, can anyone speculate as to where these plans came from? I recognize that those folks here who may know probably can’t talk about it. [/QUOTE] The N.Y. Times article cleared up the mystery: “There was stuff about dealing with Iranians in 2003, about how to avoid intelligence agents,” said one official who had reviewed it. But the most important document was a digitized design for a nuclear bomb, one that investigators quickly recognized as Pakistani.