Eugene had another reason for his visit to the Lab and that was to get the report of the nuclear forensics analysis. The report summarized all the findings of the chemical and physical analysis of the debris collected from the site of the bombing. The conclusions were clearly stated, something that he found refreshing in view of the scientists tendency to include several caveats in their reports. Based on the forensic evidence there was no doubt that the plutonium was produced in Pakistan (they even pinpointed the reactor) and that the construction of the device was carried out at PINSTECH. Chemical analysis of the remaining traces of the conventional explosives also pointed to the Pakistani military industry and the remains of the metal pipe contained a clear signature of a composition made only in China. Therefore the Pakistani attempt to blame the theft of plutonium as the source of the core of the bomb was laughable. Eugene met with the scientists from the Lab and from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was convinced that there was no room for uncertainty. Furthermore, the Israelis sent samples from the intact suitcase bomb that they had seized in Tel Aviv, courtesy of David Avivi of course, and these conclusions were unequivocally verified.
The US insisted that all copies of the advanced designs of nuclear weapons would be returned to the US or destroyed and threatened that any violation of this would be severely reprimanded. The Pakistani government was aware of the fact that a real nuclear detonation with tens of thousands of casualties would have led to a punitive counter-strike. After all, the dominant global power, not to say the only global power, could not tolerate a nuclear attack on its homeland without a suitable response. The President of the United States, who was more of a politician than a history scholar, knew that the Roman Empire survived for five centuries by prosecuting and bringing to justice, Roman style of course, anyone who harmed a Roman citizen.
Under persistent pressure by the United States and intimidation of retaliation for the unconventional terror act that was supported by Pakistan, a major change in the Pakistani intelligence services was underway. The senior members of the anti-American faction were sent to prison or placed under house arrest and intermediate level officials were transferred to remote posts where they couldn't do any harm. General Masood was the most prominent figure among those arrested and was now awaiting trial for treason and probable execution. Rahman Chenna was demoted and with his newly wedded wife, Junaid, was banished to Mingora in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province where he was put in charge of a field office that included no underlings. The scientists at PINSTECH that were involved in the construction of the devices were banned from attending conferences in the West and were not allowed to participate in joint projects. This more or less curtailed the scientific career of Dr. Anwar Usman but his consolation prize was his vibrant wife, Alma.
Dr. Eugene Powers was summoned to the oval office in the White House and in a discrete ceremony was given the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. The reason for the award was never mentioned in the public records but was commended by those few Federal employees in the NNSA and intelligence services who knew what he had done. George (Blakey) Blakemore the Islamabad CIA station chief received the National Intelligence Medallion and Linda Katz was awarded the National Intelligence Special Act or Service Award. They all saw the significance of the ceremony's date — 9/11.
Alia Jaber turned herself in after hearing that Nagib failed completely in his mission and was at present incarcerated in California and waiting for her trial. She had mixed feelings about the fizzle of the suitcase bomb she had planted in the Costa Mesa mall. Dr. Nagib Jaber was released from the Israeli prison into the custody of two Secret Service agents and brought to the US in chains and shackles. He was sent to stand trial in New Mexico although capital punishment was abolished in that state in 2009. The Islamic Society of North America hired defense attorneys for both Jabers and aimed at using the trial procedures to focus on the alleged discrimination of Muslims by the United States globally and particularly in the US.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost I would like to thank you for reading this book. I hope you enjoyed it despite the scientific jargon that I really tried to minimize.
I dearly appreciate your comments, so please send them to:
charleszdavid1@gmail.com
You may want to read my previous book "The Dreadful Alchemist" that was published in May, 2015 on Amazon, and my next book "The Dreadful Patriot" due in March, 2016.
This book would not have been possible without the help of Dr. Wikipedia and Professor Google and Magister Google Earth. I also found a wealth of information in scientific articles and books. However, any misinterpretation of the technical and geographical information from those sources is my own responsibility.
It is unnecessary to declare that this book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to real events or people is not to be understood as anything but a coincidence. I apologize in advance in case any person feels offended by the plot.
Finally, I am grateful to Glenda Sacks Jaffe for editing this book and to my family and friends who read the manuscript and enabled me to improve the text thanks to their astute comments.