Libya and nuclear technology
Encyclopedia
Libya
possesses chemical weapons and ballistic missiles and previously pursued nuclear weapons under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi
. On 19 December 2003, Gaddafi announced that Libya would voluntarily eliminate all materials, equipment and programs that could lead to internationally proscribed weapons, including weapons of mass destruction and long-range ballistic missiles. Libya signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) in 1968 and ratified it in 1975, and concluded safeguard agreement with IAEA in 1980. The United States and Great Britain assisted Libya in removing equipment and material from Libya's nuclear weapons program, with independent verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency
. Libya acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention
effective February 5, 2004 and destroyed its chemical munitions later that year, but missed the deadlines for converting its chemical weapons production facility to peaceful use and for destroying its stockpile of mustard agent.
(NPT) in July 1968, under King Idris, ratified it in 1975, under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and concluded a safeguards agreement in 1980. In 1981, the Soviet Union supplied a 10 MW research reactor at Tajoura. Colonel Gaddafi began to look at the illicit nuclear proliferation networks and various black market sources, including Swiss nuclear engineer Friedrich Tinner
. In 1970, in a meeting with Zhou Enlai
, Premier
of the People's Republic of China
, Colonel Gaddafi an unsuccessful attempt for a purchase of nuclear weapon, but it was denied by China. In 1974, while attending the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Lahore
(Pakistan), Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
, Prime minister
at that time, delegated Libya to participate in its clandestine programme, the Project-706
. But, by the time, Libyan technicians joined this programme, Bhutto was executed by the order of Pakistan Supreme Court
. The new Chief Martial Law Administrator
(CMLA) General Zia-ul-Haque distrusted and hated Colonel Gaddafi, and Libyan scientists were carefully removed from the participation as they were told to leave the country immediately. During this time, Libyan Intelligence made an unsuccessful attempts to infiltrate in Pakistan's high-powered research institutes but such attempts were thwarted by ISI as they had arrested and intercepted Libyan agents.
Colonel Gaddafi did not wanted to give up, therefore, Libya turned to India, an arch rival of Pakistan, for nuclear assistance. In 1978, Libyan agents persuaded India
and tried to buy the nuclear weapons from India. However, as part of India's Atoms for Peace program, a nuclear energy pact was signed by Libya and India. It is unclear how much interaction and cooperation was made by both countries. Through out the 1970s and 1980s, Libya made a tremendous effort to acquire the weapon from various sources despite having facing difficulties in academic progress. In 1970s, Libya pursued the uranium enrichment process, and gave an enormous effort to gain access to uranium ore, uranium conversion facilities, and enrichment technologies that together would have enabled Libya to produce weapons-grade uranium. The approach was failed in 1979, and in 1980, Libya decided to pursue and plutonium-based pathway to nuclear weapons. On multiple times, Libya violated its signed treaty, and imported 1,200 tons of uranium ore concentrate from French-controlled mines in Niger without declaring it to the IAEA, as required by the NPT. In 1982, Libya attempted to purchase a plant for manufacturing uranium tetrafluoride (UF6) from Belgium. At the time, Libya had no declared nuclear facilities that required uranium tetrafluoride, and the purchase was refused.
In 1981, Soviet Union
finally agreed to build a nuclear facility, completely under IAEA safeguards and inspection. Known as Tajura Nuclear Research Facility
(TNRF) where Libya conducted illegal Uranium conversion experiments. The unknown nuclear weapon state also allegedly assisted Libya in these experiments whose name has kept in secrecy by IAEA. Nuclear expert, David Albright, of the Institute for Science and International Security said Soviet Union and China were the most likely suspects. In 1980, a foreign expert at the facility began to conduct experiments design program at the Tajoura Nuclear Research Center in Libya aimed at producing gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment. The IAEA reported that it was Friedrich Tinner
, a nuclear engineer from Switzerland, a former employee of IAEA. Tinner completed the work in 1992, but Libya was not yet able to produce an operating centrifuge, and no centrifuge experiments involving nuclear materials had been conducted. Tinner left for Pakistan, and the centrifuge programme was abandoned and dismantle. In 1995, Tinner returned to Libya and tried to re-start the programme. In 1997, Tinner began to received technical assistance from various sources, as Libya had made a strategic decision to start the programme, with new attitude. In 1997, Libya received the provided 20 pre-assembled L-1 centrifuges and components for an additional 200 L-1 centrifuges and related part from foreign suppliers. One of the 20 pre-assembled rotors was used to install a completed single centrifuge at the Al Hashan site, which was first successfully tested in October 2000. Libya reported to the IAEA that no nuclear material had been used during tests on the L-1 centrifuges.
In 2000, Libya accelerated its programme as Tinner being the head of the programme. Libya began to order centrifuges and components from other countries with the intention of installing a centrifuge plant to make enriched uranium.
Libya received large documentation on designs of centrifuges and its operations. But Libya and Tinner suffered many set back to evaluate these designs as they were too difficult to interpret and bring into operations. Libya ultimately told IAEA investigators that it had no national personnel competent to evaluate these designs at that time, and due to its extreme difficulty, Libya would have had to ask the supplier for help if it had decided to pursue a nuclear weapon.
served as big partner of Libya in its nuclear programme. Soviet Union built two nuclear research facilities, which was put under IAEA safeguards. The first being the Al Hashan Facility (AHF) and other one being the Tajura Nuclear Research Facility (TNRF). Libyan nuclear programme repeatedly suffered with mismanagement and loss of academic generation. The Tajura facility was ran under the Soviet experts and staffed by small number of inexperienced 750 Libyan specialists and technicians aided by Soviet staff. In 1984, Libya negotiated with Soviet Union for a supply of nuclear power plant, but its retro technology had dissatisfied Colonel Gaddafi. Gaddafi negotiated with Belgium but talks were failed. In 1984, Libya ordered a pilot scale uranium conversion facility, and negotiated with Japan
for it. A Japanese company supplied Libya with the technology and the sale was apparently arranged directly with the Japanese instead of through middlemen. The facility was established near at the Al Hashan Facility and the research was started.
However, after Friedrich Tinner
joined the programme and became the head of programme. Libya employed large number of black market sources. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
, a senior scientist, was debriefed after he made a national wide confession in Pakistan to have been sold sensitive of designs centrifuges through Tinner to Libya.
and seized a subsequent consignment of centrifuge-related equipment bound for Libya in a northern Mediterranean port
. The U.S. investigations revealed that many of these components were manufactured by the Scomi
Precision Engineering
facility in Malaysia. And, it was produced under technical guidance of dr. A.Q. Khan, and various nationals from United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland. After the news became public, Libyan ambitions were cooled down and demoralized.
According to some analysts, the 11 September 2001 attacks, which Qaddafi denounced, and the impending U.S. invasion of Iraq increased Libya's desire to make peace with the United States. Libyan officials began to meet covertly with British, Russian, and U.S. officials to officially dismantle the program. In March 2003, days before the invasion of Iraq, Qaddafi's personal envoys contacted U.S. President
George Bush
, Russian President Vladimir Putin
, and British Prime minister
Tony Blair
about Libya's willingness to dismantle program. Subsequently, at Qaddafi's direction, Libyan officials provided British, Russian, and U.S. diplomats with documentation and additional details on Libya's chemical, biological, nuclear, and ballistic missile activities. Libya reportedly allowed Russian, U.S., and British officials to visit 10 previously secret sites and dozens of Libyan laboratories and military factories to search for evidence of nuclear fuel cycle-related activities, and for chemical and missile program.
On 19 December 2003, Gaddafi made a surprise announcement to dismantle the program. Libya agreed to destroy all of its chemical, nuclear, and biological weapon. Libyan provided the designs of centrifuges to U.S. officials and gave the name of its suppliers. The revelation led the debriefing of Abdul Qadeer Khan
— Pakistan's one of senior and top scientist. In 2004,the United States, along with IAEA officials and Interpol, led the arrest of Libyan nuclear program's former head Friedrich Tinner
. On 22 January 2004, U.S. transport planes carried 55,000 pounds of documents and equipment related to Libya's nuclear and ballistic missile programs to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
in Tennessee
, United States
. In March 2004, over 1,000 additional centrifuge and missile parts were shipped out of Libya.
, anti-Gaddafi forces
discovered two warehouses containing thousands of blue barrels marked with tape saying "radioactive" and plastic bags of yellow powder sealed with the same tape. The IAEA
stated, "We can confirm that there is yellowcake
stored in drums at a site near Sabha ... which Libya previously declared to the IAEA. ... The IAEA has tentatively scheduled safeguards activities at this location once the situation in the country stabilises." Libya's National Transitional Council
is cooperating with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons regarding the destruction of all legacy chemical weapons in the country. After assessing the chemical stockpiles the Libyan government will receive a deadline from the OPCW to destroy the weapons.
's rule, but it was ostensibly decommissioned in the 2000s and early 2010s as Gaddafi sought to normalise relations between the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Western world
. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons supervised the destruction of Libya's chemical weapons caches through February 2011, when it was forced to suspend its operations due to the uprising against Gaddafi and the resulting deterioration of the country's stability. In early September 2011, OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü
said reports he had received indicated that the remaining weapons were secure and had not fallen into the hands of militant groups. A stockpile of mustard gas, which the OPCW reported the regime may have attempted to hide from inspectors overseeing the chemical weapons programme's dismantlement, was reportedly found in the Al Jufrah District by anti-Gaddafi fighters less than two weeks later.
forces loyal to Gaddafi reportedly fired several Scud-B
surface-to-surface missiles at areas in revolt against the regime, including Misrata and Ajdabiya
, during the 2011 civil war, but the weapons missed their targets. Several more Scuds, with launchers, were located by anti-Gaddafi fighters near Tripoli
and Sirte
.
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
possesses chemical weapons and ballistic missiles and previously pursued nuclear weapons under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
. On 19 December 2003, Gaddafi announced that Libya would voluntarily eliminate all materials, equipment and programs that could lead to internationally proscribed weapons, including weapons of mass destruction and long-range ballistic missiles. Libya signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
(NPT) in 1968 and ratified it in 1975, and concluded safeguard agreement with IAEA in 1980. The United States and Great Britain assisted Libya in removing equipment and material from Libya's nuclear weapons program, with independent verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
. Libya acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention
Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction...
effective February 5, 2004 and destroyed its chemical munitions later that year, but missed the deadlines for converting its chemical weapons production facility to peaceful use and for destroying its stockpile of mustard agent.
Nuclear program
Libya signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation TreatyNuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
(NPT) in July 1968, under King Idris, ratified it in 1975, under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and concluded a safeguards agreement in 1980. In 1981, the Soviet Union supplied a 10 MW research reactor at Tajoura. Colonel Gaddafi began to look at the illicit nuclear proliferation networks and various black market sources, including Swiss nuclear engineer Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner, also known as Fred Tinner; Born 1937, is a Swiss nuclear engineer and a long-associated friend of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan— Pakistan's former top scientist— and connected with the Khan nuclear network trafficking in the proliferation of nuclear materials and centrifuge designs to...
. In 1970, in a meeting with Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
, Premier
Premier of the People's Republic of China
The Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , sometimes also referred to as the "Prime Minister" informally, is the Leader of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , who is the head of government and holds the highest-ranking of the Civil service of the...
of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Colonel Gaddafi an unsuccessful attempt for a purchase of nuclear weapon, but it was denied by China. In 1974, while attending the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
(Pakistan), Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
, Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
at that time, delegated Libya to participate in its clandestine programme, the Project-706
Project-706
Project-706, also known as Project-726 or as the Kahuta Project, was a science effort codename of a project conducted during the Cold War and Russo-Afghan War whose objective was to develop Pakistan' first atomic weapon. The mainstream goal of the project was the development of an atomic bomb using...
. But, by the time, Libyan technicians joined this programme, Bhutto was executed by the order of Pakistan Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
. The new Chief Martial Law Administrator
Chief Martial Law Administrator
The office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator was a senior government post created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and powers to the holder of the post to enforce martial law in the country. This office has been used mostly by...
(CMLA) General Zia-ul-Haque distrusted and hated Colonel Gaddafi, and Libyan scientists were carefully removed from the participation as they were told to leave the country immediately. During this time, Libyan Intelligence made an unsuccessful attempts to infiltrate in Pakistan's high-powered research institutes but such attempts were thwarted by ISI as they had arrested and intercepted Libyan agents.
Colonel Gaddafi did not wanted to give up, therefore, Libya turned to India, an arch rival of Pakistan, for nuclear assistance. In 1978, Libyan agents persuaded India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and tried to buy the nuclear weapons from India. However, as part of India's Atoms for Peace program, a nuclear energy pact was signed by Libya and India. It is unclear how much interaction and cooperation was made by both countries. Through out the 1970s and 1980s, Libya made a tremendous effort to acquire the weapon from various sources despite having facing difficulties in academic progress. In 1970s, Libya pursued the uranium enrichment process, and gave an enormous effort to gain access to uranium ore, uranium conversion facilities, and enrichment technologies that together would have enabled Libya to produce weapons-grade uranium. The approach was failed in 1979, and in 1980, Libya decided to pursue and plutonium-based pathway to nuclear weapons. On multiple times, Libya violated its signed treaty, and imported 1,200 tons of uranium ore concentrate from French-controlled mines in Niger without declaring it to the IAEA, as required by the NPT. In 1982, Libya attempted to purchase a plant for manufacturing uranium tetrafluoride (UF6) from Belgium. At the time, Libya had no declared nuclear facilities that required uranium tetrafluoride, and the purchase was refused.
In 1981, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
finally agreed to build a nuclear facility, completely under IAEA safeguards and inspection. Known as Tajura Nuclear Research Facility
Tajura
Tajura , also spelt Tajoura, is a city in Libya, in the Tripoli District , on the Mediterranean coast east of Tripoli in the Tripolitania region....
(TNRF) where Libya conducted illegal Uranium conversion experiments. The unknown nuclear weapon state also allegedly assisted Libya in these experiments whose name has kept in secrecy by IAEA. Nuclear expert, David Albright, of the Institute for Science and International Security said Soviet Union and China were the most likely suspects. In 1980, a foreign expert at the facility began to conduct experiments design program at the Tajoura Nuclear Research Center in Libya aimed at producing gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment. The IAEA reported that it was Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner, also known as Fred Tinner; Born 1937, is a Swiss nuclear engineer and a long-associated friend of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan— Pakistan's former top scientist— and connected with the Khan nuclear network trafficking in the proliferation of nuclear materials and centrifuge designs to...
, a nuclear engineer from Switzerland, a former employee of IAEA. Tinner completed the work in 1992, but Libya was not yet able to produce an operating centrifuge, and no centrifuge experiments involving nuclear materials had been conducted. Tinner left for Pakistan, and the centrifuge programme was abandoned and dismantle. In 1995, Tinner returned to Libya and tried to re-start the programme. In 1997, Tinner began to received technical assistance from various sources, as Libya had made a strategic decision to start the programme, with new attitude. In 1997, Libya received the provided 20 pre-assembled L-1 centrifuges and components for an additional 200 L-1 centrifuges and related part from foreign suppliers. One of the 20 pre-assembled rotors was used to install a completed single centrifuge at the Al Hashan site, which was first successfully tested in October 2000. Libya reported to the IAEA that no nuclear material had been used during tests on the L-1 centrifuges.
In 2000, Libya accelerated its programme as Tinner being the head of the programme. Libya began to order centrifuges and components from other countries with the intention of installing a centrifuge plant to make enriched uranium.
Libya received large documentation on designs of centrifuges and its operations. But Libya and Tinner suffered many set back to evaluate these designs as they were too difficult to interpret and bring into operations. Libya ultimately told IAEA investigators that it had no national personnel competent to evaluate these designs at that time, and due to its extreme difficulty, Libya would have had to ask the supplier for help if it had decided to pursue a nuclear weapon.
Foreign assistance
In 1980, Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
served as big partner of Libya in its nuclear programme. Soviet Union built two nuclear research facilities, which was put under IAEA safeguards. The first being the Al Hashan Facility (AHF) and other one being the Tajura Nuclear Research Facility (TNRF). Libyan nuclear programme repeatedly suffered with mismanagement and loss of academic generation. The Tajura facility was ran under the Soviet experts and staffed by small number of inexperienced 750 Libyan specialists and technicians aided by Soviet staff. In 1984, Libya negotiated with Soviet Union for a supply of nuclear power plant, but its retro technology had dissatisfied Colonel Gaddafi. Gaddafi negotiated with Belgium but talks were failed. In 1984, Libya ordered a pilot scale uranium conversion facility, and negotiated with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for it. A Japanese company supplied Libya with the technology and the sale was apparently arranged directly with the Japanese instead of through middlemen. The facility was established near at the Al Hashan Facility and the research was started.
However, after Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner, also known as Fred Tinner; Born 1937, is a Swiss nuclear engineer and a long-associated friend of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan— Pakistan's former top scientist— and connected with the Khan nuclear network trafficking in the proliferation of nuclear materials and centrifuge designs to...
joined the programme and became the head of programme. Libya employed large number of black market sources. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
, a senior scientist, was debriefed after he made a national wide confession in Pakistan to have been sold sensitive of designs centrifuges through Tinner to Libya.
Dismantlement
In 2003, U.S. intelligence agencies raided a cargo shipTanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
and seized a subsequent consignment of centrifuge-related equipment bound for Libya in a northern Mediterranean port
Mediterranean Region, Turkey
The Mediterranean Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Aegean Region to the west, the Central Anatolia Region to the north, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the northeast, the Southeastern Anatolia Region to the east, Syria to the southeast, and...
. The U.S. investigations revealed that many of these components were manufactured by the Scomi
Scomi
Scomi Group Berhad is a global service provider based in Malaysia mainly involved in oil and gas and transport engineering.Scomi Group Bhd which is listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, and its Group of companies are involved in three core businesses: Oilfield Services;...
Precision Engineering
Scomi Precision Engineering nuclear scandal
Syarikat Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd was established under the Scomi group of companies controlled by Kamaluddin Abdullah, a businessman who is the son of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi...
facility in Malaysia. And, it was produced under technical guidance of dr. A.Q. Khan, and various nationals from United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland. After the news became public, Libyan ambitions were cooled down and demoralized.
According to some analysts, the 11 September 2001 attacks, which Qaddafi denounced, and the impending U.S. invasion of Iraq increased Libya's desire to make peace with the United States. Libyan officials began to meet covertly with British, Russian, and U.S. officials to officially dismantle the program. In March 2003, days before the invasion of Iraq, Qaddafi's personal envoys contacted U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, and British Prime minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
about Libya's willingness to dismantle program. Subsequently, at Qaddafi's direction, Libyan officials provided British, Russian, and U.S. diplomats with documentation and additional details on Libya's chemical, biological, nuclear, and ballistic missile activities. Libya reportedly allowed Russian, U.S., and British officials to visit 10 previously secret sites and dozens of Libyan laboratories and military factories to search for evidence of nuclear fuel cycle-related activities, and for chemical and missile program.
On 19 December 2003, Gaddafi made a surprise announcement to dismantle the program. Libya agreed to destroy all of its chemical, nuclear, and biological weapon. Libyan provided the designs of centrifuges to U.S. officials and gave the name of its suppliers. The revelation led the debriefing of Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
— Pakistan's one of senior and top scientist. In 2004,the United States, along with IAEA officials and Interpol, led the arrest of Libyan nuclear program's former head Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner, also known as Fred Tinner; Born 1937, is a Swiss nuclear engineer and a long-associated friend of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan— Pakistan's former top scientist— and connected with the Khan nuclear network trafficking in the proliferation of nuclear materials and centrifuge designs to...
. On 22 January 2004, U.S. transport planes carried 55,000 pounds of documents and equipment related to Libya's nuclear and ballistic missile programs to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In March 2004, over 1,000 additional centrifuge and missile parts were shipped out of Libya.
Post-Gaddafi
On 22 September 2011, near Sabha, towards the end of the 2011 Libyan civil war2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
, anti-Gaddafi forces
Anti-Gaddafi forces
The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. These opposition forces included organised and armed militia groups, participants in the 2011 Libyan civil war, Libyan diplomats who switched their...
discovered two warehouses containing thousands of blue barrels marked with tape saying "radioactive" and plastic bags of yellow powder sealed with the same tape. The IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
stated, "We can confirm that there is yellowcake
Yellowcake
Yellowcake is a kind of uranium concentrate powder obtained from leach solutions, in an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. Yellowcake concentrates are prepared by various extraction and refining methods, depending on the types of ores...
stored in drums at a site near Sabha ... which Libya previously declared to the IAEA. ... The IAEA has tentatively scheduled safeguards activities at this location once the situation in the country stabilises." Libya's National Transitional Council
National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya , sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, the Interim National Council, or the Libyan National Council,...
is cooperating with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons regarding the destruction of all legacy chemical weapons in the country. After assessing the chemical stockpiles the Libyan government will receive a deadline from the OPCW to destroy the weapons.
Chemical weapons
Libya maintained a chemical weapons programme under Muammar GaddafiMuammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
's rule, but it was ostensibly decommissioned in the 2000s and early 2010s as Gaddafi sought to normalise relations between the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons supervised the destruction of Libya's chemical weapons caches through February 2011, when it was forced to suspend its operations due to the uprising against Gaddafi and the resulting deterioration of the country's stability. In early September 2011, OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü
Ahmet Üzümcü
Ahmet Üzümcü is a Turkish career diplomat who is presently the director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Üzümcü was consul at the Consulate General in Aleppo, Syria as well as ambassador in Israel. From 1999 to 2002 he served as the permanent representative of...
said reports he had received indicated that the remaining weapons were secure and had not fallen into the hands of militant groups. A stockpile of mustard gas, which the OPCW reported the regime may have attempted to hide from inspectors overseeing the chemical weapons programme's dismantlement, was reportedly found in the Al Jufrah District by anti-Gaddafi fighters less than two weeks later.
Ballistic missiles
Libyan ArmyLibyan Army
In 2009 the IISS estimated that the Ground Forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya numbered 25,000 with an additional, estimated, 25,000 conscripts...
forces loyal to Gaddafi reportedly fired several Scud-B
Scud
Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
surface-to-surface missiles at areas in revolt against the regime, including Misrata and Ajdabiya
Ajdabiya
Ajdabiya was one of the districts of Libya. It lay in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital was Ajdabiya. As of 2007 it was subsumed within the enlarged Al Wahat District....
, during the 2011 civil war, but the weapons missed their targets. Several more Scuds, with launchers, were located by anti-Gaddafi fighters near Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
and Sirte
Sirte
Sirte is a city in LibyaSirte may also refer to:* Sirte Declaration, a 1999 resolution to create the African Union* Sirte Oil Company, a Libyan oil companyIn geography:* Gulf of Sirte, alias for Gulf of Sidra on Libya's coast...
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