On 15 December 1975, A. Q. Khan - a young Pakistani nuclear scientist working in Holland - stole top secret blueprints for a revolutionary new process to arm a nuclear bomb. His original intention was to provide for Pakistan a counter to India's ongoing pursuit of an atomic bomb.

But over time that ambition mushroomed into a vast nuclear black market sanctioned by Pakistan's military elite - financed by aid money from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Libya, as well as boundless assistance from China. They secretly sold weapons to Iran, North Korea, and many others - with the clear knowledge of the American government, for whom Pakistan was a crucial buffer against the Soviets and now an ally in the 'war on terror'.

Successive US administrations conducted a deliberate cover-up: destroying intelligence, lying to Congress and the West about Pakistan's capability, and facilitating the spread of the very weapons we vilify the 'axis of evil' powers for coveting and dread Islamic terrorists obtaining.