Page S/The Battalion/Thursday, July 16, 1987
:
World and Natior
U.S. officials arrest Pakistani for trying
to export steel to make atom bomb
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pakistani arrested
on charges of trying to export a rare type of steel
used in the manufacture of weapons-grade ura
nium was part of a broader effort by the Moslem
nation to build nuclear arms, government and
private experts said Wednesday.
Pakistan’s drive to build a bomb dates from the
explosion of a nuclear device in 1974 by India, its
historic enemy, and has included theft, bribery
and subterfuge to obtain technology and
material, according to court records in the
United States and Western Europe.
Despite the secrecy surrounding Pakistan’s nu
clear program, “a consensus seems to have
emerged that Pakistan is at the nuclear-weapons
threshold: it either possesses all of the compo
nents needed to manufacture one or several
atom bombs or else remains just short of this
goal,” said Leonard Spector, a Washington-based
nuclear proliferation expert and author of
“Going Nuclear.”
Pakistan wants the maraging 350 steel, as the
special alloy is called, for centrifuges at a second
uranium enrichment plant at its nuclear facility
in Kahuta, 18 miles from the capital of Islama
bad, Spector said.
A second plant would allow Pakistan to pro
duce fuel for up to 10 bombs a year, whereas the
one enrichment facility at Kahuta can produce
22 pounds of uranium annually, enough for
about one bomb, Spector said.
Although Pakistan claims that its nuclear pro
gram is peaceful in intent, U.S. officials became
convinced that Pakistan had the capability to
build the bomb after three Pakistani nationals
were indicted in June 1984 for attempting to
smuggle out high-speed electronic switches,
known as krytons, said a knowledgable adminis
tration source who spoke on condition of ano
nymity.
Two of the Pakistanis testified for the prosecu
tion and were released, and one, Nazir Ahmed
Vaid, pleaded guilty to lesser charges, served
three months and was deported, according to
court records in Houston.
Krytons are used almost exclusively to trigger
nuclear explosions, just as maraging steel is used
:lu:
almost exclusively in uranium enrichment.
After the kryton incident, Congress passed a
law in 1985 that would cancel foreign aid to any
non-nuclear nation that tried to import from the
United States materials that “would contribute
significantly to manufacture of a nuclear explo
sive device.”
Pakistan, which received $650 million in U.S.
aid this year, refuses to allow inspection of its Ka
huta plant and will not sign the nuclear non-pro
liferation treaty until India does likewise, said
embassy spokesman Salim Gul Shaikh.
The spokesman declined to comment on the
latest case, which was disclosed in papers filed
last week in Philadelphia federal court when Cus
toms agents arrested Arshad Z. Pervez of Paki
stan for bribing Commerce Department officials
to obtain a license to export 50,000 pounds of
maraging steel.
Pakistani agents have been trying for at least
two years in Europe and the United States to buy
maraging steel.
us. orders u.s. trade deficit increases
out of country in May as imports shoot up
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two
Cuban diplomats were ordered out
of the United States on Wednesday
in response to what the State Depart
ment called an “intolerable” cam
paign against American diplomats in
Havana.
The ousted Cubans, Bienvenido
Abierno and Virgilio Lora, are third
secretaries. They were told to leave
within 10 days.
Stare Department spokesman
Bruce Ammerman said American
diplomats had been accused by the
Cuban media of espionage, causing
“irreparable harm” to their families
and endangering their safety.
The United States and Cuba do
not have formal diplomatic rela
tions, but maintain “interests sec
tions” in each other’s capitals. There
are 17 Cubans working out of the
Czechoslovak embassy here.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Revers
ing two monthly improvements, the
nation’s trade deficit widened in
May to $14.4 billion as Americans
bucked rising prices and imported a
record level of foreign goods, the
Commerce Department reported
Wednesday.
The growth of the merchandise
trade deficit from $13.3 billion in
April and $13.6 billion in March
drew expressions of disappointment
from government and private econ
omists, who had expected better fig
ures under the pressure of increas
ing import prices from a weaker
U.S. dollar.
Coming as the Senate neared a fi
nal vote on far-reaching trade legis
lation, the report was expected tc
make the Reagan administration^
battle against restrictive trade mea
sures even more difficult.
“It’s bad news for the opponents
of protectionism,” said David Wyss,
chief financial economist for Data
Resources Inc. “Anything else you
argue about this, the headline Con
gress is going to be reading will say
‘Trade Deficit Worsens.’ ”
For the first five months of 1987,
the deficit was running at an annual
rate of $ 164.8 billion — slightly trail
ing last year’s record $166.3 billion
shortfall.
Administration officials said they
were disappointed but characterized
the turnabout as temporary. Com
merce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige
noted trade figures had narrowed in
six of the preceeding nine months.
“As we have warned in the past,
while the trade deficit will continue
to improve, there will be occasional
monthly setbacks against that im
proving trend,” Baldrige said.
Meanwhile, the Commerce De
partment said business inventories
had swollen 0.7 percent in May for
the biggest increase in unsold goods
in three years.
May’s figure was the highest defi
cit since a $15.1 billion gap in Feb
ruary.
Analysts gave some possible ex-
is foi
planations for the poorer-than-ex-
pected performance:
• Unlike other government eco
nomic statistics, the trade figures are
not adjusted to remove the effects of
predictable seasonal factors. Thus,
the May figures were heavily in
fluenced by a surge in automobile
imports that occurs each spring.
• Petroleum-product imports
jumped $500 million, to $3.5 billion,
in May, reflecting heavy purchases
by U.S. oil companies.
Cocaine traffic^
I V.
admits to dealinm
drugs for Contras r
WASHINGTON (AP) — A
convicted cocaine trafficker told
Congress Wednesday that he
helped the Nicaraguan Contras
smuggle drugs into the United
States and ship automatic weap
ons and explosives to Central
America.
George Morales, who is serving
a 16-year federal prison sentence
in Miami, also said he made pay
offs to officials in Cuba and the
Bahamas — countries he said
were used to transship drugs and
launder money. Panama was an
other money-laundering point,
he said.
The 38-year-old Colombian-
born American citizen described
for a Senate Foreign Relations
subcommittee on drugs a large-
scale smuggling operation that
used airplanes, helicopters and
boats to make millions of dollars.
The Contras have repeatedly
denied allegations of drug-smug
gling. Contra spokesman Ernesto
Palazio said the rebel organiza
tion is “more interested than any
one else in finding out if any of
our people” were involved in
such activity, so action can be
taken.
But Palazio dismissed Morales’
allegations, saying, “We’ve heard
this gentleman’s accusations be
fore. He is a convicted drug
dealer.”
Morales, who testified in the
custody of federal marshals, said
he haa nothing to gain from ap
pearing before the subcommittee,
which is headed by Sen. John
Kerry, D-Mass. He volunteered
to take a lie detector test to dem
onstrate the truthfulness of his
take in lessening the role that
cotics can play” in the inteirj
tional arena.
Morales said his involve!®
with the Contras began after
was indicted on a drug chargej
March 1984. About a
later, he said, he was approadi
statements.
Because of the nature of the
drug business, Kerry said his
panel was forced to gather infor
mation from witnesses who had
been involved with narcotics. The
overall aim of hearings, he said, is
by a group of men associated vW 113
the Contras.
In exchange for Morales’hell*® 111 (
the men promised to “takecare| a f lei 1
my (legal) problem and toalarM® st
extent they did.” The men reP* 1 ' 3 .
resented themselves as hai a . m ! sl
connections with the CIA,
rales said. The CIA has repofl P’
edly said it is not involved mdri t0 Wlt
smuggling. K ess ’
Morales, an internation;fflpy 0 '
known speedboat racer, said jsj ona
involvement with the Coim \ iei
lasted from June 1984 untilJiM ^
uary 1986, six months before I in C1V
was arrested and jailed. HisantB 5 u
came after he accidentally hirerM enU ‘
man who was an informantfl in 8 ~
the Drug Enforcement Admirfl 10 ^ r:
tration. P oulc
On at least seven occasbi
Morales said his airplanes-p |
of his air cargo company —wB 1611 *
loaded with weapons and fit' 1 § ex,e
to Costa Rica or El Salvador
use by the Contras. The pliKj^ R> (
were then packed with drugsatR iat
brought to Florida. idem
Morales said his operativessd
the drugs and returned the pi
its to the Contras. Asked hj
much the project generated
the re lie Is who were banned fro:
receiving U.S. military aid fa
much of the period, Moralessaic
“Many, many millions of dolhn
Although Morales said li
never personally flew the run:
Central America to deliverweatj
ons and pick up drugs, he said
trained pilots who made si
flights and he helped on-and
load the airplanes.
hosta
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