All this espionage talk is demeaning to the Pakistanis, IMO. It's like they're not smart enough to develop a nuke.

The USA, UK, and France have educated numerous Pakistanis in nuclear engineering and nuclear physics. Without these very bright and well-educated people Pakistan couldn't make a bomb if they had a blueprint and box of instructions. Nobody could. You have to have the education to do it.

Not saying espionage couldn't be a factor. Look at Klaus Fuchs and whatsisname Pollard and so forth. Greed and political beliefs are a source of information in any country.

Finally, look at the source of the story -- the CIA. The history of that agency just doesn't speak well for it's fact-finding ability. They though Bay of Pigs would spark a popular revolt in Cuba, they advised Johnson & Nixon on how to win in Vietnam, failed to predict the collapse of the Berlin Wall, they failed to predict the implosion of the USSR, said Saddam was sitting on WMD and reconstituting his nuke program, "It's a slam-dunk". There is no good reason to believe anything coming from CIA.

B