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U.S. Considers Aiding Libyan CW Disposal
The U.S. Defense Department is considering aiding Libya’s chemical weapons disposal efforts, but estimates that such assistance would cost $100 million, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Nov. 16, 2005). Pentagon specialists visited Libya in late January, and are now preparing a proposal discussing ways in which the United States could help Libya meet its Chemical Weapons Convention obligation to eliminate its chemical stockpile. “It would be a difficult thing,” said James Tegnelia, director of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The site visited by the DTRA officials is in an isolated location that lacks sufficient access to water needed for chemical agent neutralization, said Peter Flory, assistant defense secretary for international security policy. Pentagon officials declined to identify the site or say what the visiting officials found, AP reported. Libya conducted chemical weapons production and storage in facilities at Rabta, Sebha and Tarhunah, according to the Monterey Institute’s Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Libya in 2004 declared possession of 23 tons of mustard gas, one deactivated production facility and two chemical weapons storage sites. It also has more than 1,300 tons of chemical precursors. “There’s a good chance” that eliminating the chemical agent and related materials would cost more than $100 million, Flory told a Senate panel. “And in that case we have to consider what are the opportunity costs of doing that particular bit of work compared to other, similar work in the former Soviet Union, in Central Asia or other regions.” Support from the United States could include financial assistance or technical expertise, AP reported. “Such assistance would reinforce the wisdom of Libya’s decision to eliminate its WMD programs,” the Pentagon said in a statement issued after Tegnelia spoke. Tegnelia indicated the decision would need to be made carefully, noting that the money could be directed toward U.S. efforts to secure nuclear material in Russia (see GSN, March 30). “In the end, meeting the Chemical Weapons Convention responsibility is the Libyan government’s responsibility,” he said. “In today’s world, it’s not like they don’t have resources to be able to do that.” “What are the Libyans prepared to do to help? What is the condition of their (chemical) weapons systems? I mean, if they aren’t a terrorist threat, that would have a bearing on how important it is to try to secure it” (Robert Burns, Associated Press/ABC News, March 31).
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