Some national hero

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: You can't read very much about a scientist called A.Q. Khan without learning very quickly that he is the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program and that he is a national hero in Pakistan. However heroic Khan may seem to people in his homeland, a new report to Congress by the CIA shows that he is -- or certainly should be -- persona non grata in the rest of the world.
In some ways, Khan is worse than the neighborhood pusher who sells drugs to schoolchildren. Khan was the CEO of a network that pushed nuclear weapons technology to customers who cannot be trusted with handguns, much less weapons of mass destruction. He made millions from the deals.
The customers included such rogue regimes as the ones in Libya, North Korea and Iran, noted the report, issued last week. The report said Khan's network provided Iran's nuclear program with "significant assistance," including designs for "advanced and efficient" weapons components.
Reckless
So profligate and so reckless was Khan's operation that George Tenet, the former CIA director, has said Khan is "at least as dangerous as Osama bin Laden," the al-Qaeda chieftain.
Earlier this year, under pressure from the United States and others, Khan confessed to providing weapons technology to Libya, North Korea and Iran. His arms sales were shut down, and he has been under virtual house arrest since then.
But the Pakistani government has rejected suggestions that Khan be made available to U.N. officials to learn the nature and extent of his operations. The government is unwilling to make him accountable for his business dealings.
This reluctance is understandable; Khan, after all, is a national hero. Also likely: A trial might produce evidence that the government was a partner in Khan's operation, or at least a tolerant bystander.
Maybe Khan is beyond the reach of justice and accountability. But at least he ought to be known for what he is so that the damage he caused can be recognized and contained.