Bad days are ahead for Muslims abroad as USA plans to hit Iraq if the inspectors from UN go in and are not given cooperation. Hence being Indian in New York and a Hindu is a plus wherever one goes socially or in the Strategic community. However, no one says it openly because America has been built on appreciation of all races and religions –– such freedom no other nation gives, not even India and this was evident from many Hindutva statements. But then in India it is the Kashmir and Pakistan factor that dominates. India's Dy PM L K Advani was right when he stated that Pakistan is the epicentre of the World's Terrorism and now in America no one is saying it openly but it is an accepted fact. Being Indian is a boon here and being a Muslim and from the Middle East and Pakistan is an embarrassment. As on 24 Oct, when the US FBI in conjunction with the Police arrested Muhamad aka Williams, a Gulf war decorated soldier and his 17 year old Jamaican accomplice who may be involved or be held in connection with the 10 sniper shootings which had terrorised Washington since mid October, has once again brought the realisation in average American minds that most followers of Islam see USA as an enemy. This mind-set is full of danger.

Thomas Friedman explains that the Muslims in the streets are not so dangerous but the Muslims in the basement who feel deprived are full of anger and hate for USA. Williams an ex soldier with two failed marriages turned Muslim last year and is said to have articulated anti US feelings. This case will have a lot of repercussions on the security aspects of the world and more so in Muslim states like Pakistan. Many Muslims are now being looked upon in USA as suspects till they prove their bonafides.

Now comes the missiles-for-nukes barter deal between Pakistan and North Korea, which has a more direct Chinese angle than the fact that these two rogue states are allies of China. Media has confirmed here in USA that China invited seven Pakistani and four North Korean nuclear and metallurgical scientists to its Lop Nor nuclear test facility in October 2000 to demonstrate processes to miniaturise nuclear warheads and synchronised missile warhead caps for multiple warhead missile systems. This is why we have said that Pakistan has a credible nuclear ability and even has miniature nuclear bombs. Western diplomats said that the scientists were state guests and got hands-on experience miniaturising the warheads, closely assisted by Chinese experts. The North Koreans were keen to miniaturise their own nuclear warheads using Chinese technology but diplomats say China and Pakistan put pressure on Pyongyang for joint development.

China and Pakistan apparently supplied dual-use technology to North Korea secretly and China used Pakistan as a front in the trade since it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a signatory to nuclear proliferation and missile technology control regimes and would have been embarrassed if the deal had been exposed. China helped Pakistan and North Korea with state-of-the-art "design placement theories" which greatly advanced the two countries' atomic weapons and missiles programmes.

Diplomats say that Pakistan wanted to move fast in developing nuclear and missile technology to match Indian capabilities but China shrewdly parted piecemeal with its technology to extract the maximum funds from Pakistan. "All the while, China was keen to give an impression of a non-proliferator and responsible nuclear power," a diplomat said. "So it prevented its state-run companies from directly sending any material or equipment to North Korea and used Pakistan as a conduit." Western diplomats say that China first invited Pakistani scientists in 1988 when it conducted a series of nuclear tests and they believe like the Indian government that Pakistan tested its first nuclear weapon in Lop Nor in close association with Chinese scientists.

An uproar has been triggered off by a US government leak to The New York Times that Pakistan supplied critical equipment for North Korea's nuclear-weapons programme in exchange for missile technology. But what has to be kept in mind too, is the covert Chinese role.)