U.S. Worried by Remaining Libyan Chemical Arsenal

Is it an excuse like what happened with Iraq?

From NTI - Global Security Newswire

The status of Libya's remaining stockpile of mustard blister agent is a concern in the United States as it watches dictator Muammar Qadhafi try to hold on to power amid growing conflict in his nation, the Wall Street Journal reported today (see GSN, Feb. 23).

 

(Feb. 24) - Libya's old national flag is raised on top of a police station in the opposition-held city of Tobruk. Libya's mustard blister agent stockpile has been a source of concern amid widespread unrest in the North African nation (Patrick Baz/Getty Images).

Widespread unrest in the North African country continued today, with reports that foreign mercenaries and irregular security forces had mounted several attacks against opposition forces in areas close to the capital city of Tripoli, according to the New York Times. Qadhafi has said he is prepared to die rather than give up power and has urged those loyal to him to strike out against those seeking to topple his decades-old regime.
"When you have a guy who's as irrational as Qadhafi with some serious weapons at his disposal, it's always a concern," an unidentified U.S. official said. "But we haven't yet seen him move to use any kind of mustard gas or chemical weapon" in response to the protests.
Prior to this month's sweeping unrest, Libya had been making progress toward destroying its declared stockpile of chemical weapons. Tripoli has eliminated its arsenal of empty aerial munitions that could have been used to drop warfare materials and has destroyed more than 50 percent of its roughly 25-metric-ton cache of mustard agent, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said yesterday.
An OPCW spokesman this week said his agency believes Qadhafi years ago gave up the means to deploy his chemical weapons.
Sources in Washington said they are worried about the security of the chemical agents. They also left open the possibility that Qadhafi might try to somehow employ the mustard gas against his opponents.
"Had the destruction process not started, we would be facing a far more dangerous situation," former Bush administration disarmament specialist Paula DeSutter said. "On the other hand, one would certainly feel more secure if all of the mustard gas had been eliminated."
Qadhafi announced in 2003 he was ending his regime's effort to acquire a nuclear weapon capability and other WMD activities. Libya continues to possess outdated Scud B missiles and 1,000 metric tons of yellowcake uranium, according to U.S. officials.
Libya's destruction of its chemical arsenal has lagged as Tripoli and Washington have bickered over foreign financial support for the effort and other details. The North African state was supposed to have destroyed its mustard agent stockpile before 2010 was over but has been given an extension to May 15 (see GSN, Feb. 2).
Media reports on how much blister agent is left differ, with the Journal reporting 9.5 metric tons have yet to be destroyed (Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal, Feb. 24).
The Washington Times reported that issue experts estimate that Tripoli still holds almost 14 metric tons of mustard agent.
"Obviously, the security of the Libyan stockpile of chemical weapons is a concern," a U.S. intelligence officer said.
"You could see a scenario where Qadhafi takes troops away from these (stockpiles)," a Senate aide tracking events in Libya said. "He could be pulling his security forces off of his missions, and bring them to Tripoli and Benghazi and other towns he needs to secure to hold on to his regime and, as a result, these facilities will be unguarded."
DeSutter speculated that Qadhafi could use the blister agent against protesters even without munitions: "If you want to kill your people, you could pour it out on the street."
There are also concerns that extremists might exploit the security situation in the country and try to misappropriate the mustard gas.
"There are terrorists who may want to get their hands on these weapons, and, given the current state of chaos in the country, we need to be worried these chemical agents could fall into the wrong hands," Foreign Policy Initiative Executive Director Jamie Fly said (Eli Lake, Washington Times, Feb. 23).