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To this day, despite intense international scrutiny and pressure, as well as on-site physical inspections, the international community still does not know the full extent of Libya's chemical program. However, in February 2014, Libya announced the completion of destruction of its usable chemical weapons and its aim to complete the destruction of precursor chemicals by December 2016.

Libya's CW Capabilities

Libya first encountered chemical weapons in 1930 when Benito Mussolini authorized sulfur use against Libyan rebels. [1] Upon deciding to build an offensive program in the mid-1980s, Libya rapidly erected a production facility near the village of Rabta. [2] The assistance of foreign suppliers, mostly from Western Europe, proved invaluable to the development of Libya's chemical weapons facilities. [3] By the 1990s, Libya was widely believed to possess an extensive CW production capability and refused to sign the , inciting international concern that Libya might use its alleged chemical weapons capability in support of terrorism. [4]

In late 2003, following international revelations over Libya's illicit nuclear program, Qadhafi's regime renounced its pursuit of , including chemical weapons, and allowed extensive international inspections. Libya became a party to the CWC in early 2004 and began destroying its chemical weapons arsenal and facilities under international verification. [5] Inspections by the revealed an active CW inventory far smaller than prevailing intelligence assessments had assumed, raising important questions about the reliability of U.S. intelligence work. [6] According to a U.S. government commission scientific and technical deficiencies and an incentive structure that values quantity over quality within the U.S. intelligence community contributed to misrepresentative assessments of Libya's CW. [7] In addition to finding smaller quantities than expected, inspections also uncovered substandard manufacturing and storage protocols, suggesting that Libya lacked either the know-how or the desire to manufacture and maintain robust CW stores. [8]

Under Qadhafi, Libya pledged to fulfill its destruction obligations by 2011. By February 2011 Libya had completed the destruction of roughly 55% of its declared bulk mustard agent stockpile and roughly 40% of its precursor stockpile. [9] While the 2011 armed uprising diverted attention and resources away from CW destruction, the National Transitional Council of Libya has repeatedly reaffirmed its CWC commitments and has cooperated fully with the OPCW. [10] However, post-Qadhafi authorities reported the discovery of two additional sites containing chemical weapons that Qadhafi kept hidden from the international community, and on 20 January 2011 the OPCW confirmed the discovery of previously undeclared chemical weapons munitions (primarily artillery shells). [11] Post-war inspections of known storage facilities have confirmed that previously declared stores were not compromised during the uprising, and monitors and armed sentries continue working to ensure their security. [12] The discovery of previously unknown weapons introduces uncertainty as to the true scale of Libya's inherited CW stockpile. [13] However, the open discussion of these newly discovered materials strengthens confidence that the National Transitional Council intends to comply with its CWC obligations, to the best of its ability.

Since the Qadhafi government's removal from power, the continued destruction of Libya's chemical weapons has transpired slowly. In April and May 2013, the new government completed a two-week project to eliminate a large amount of bulk mustard agent, marking 85% destruction of the total stockpile. [14] However, reports from September 2013 indicated that Libya had not yet begun the destruction of thousands of pounds of mustard agent that had already been filled into munitions. [15] This task was later declared complete on February 4, 2014, resulting in the complete destruction of Libya's Category 1 chemical weapons. [16]Libya's substantial stockpile Category 2 chemicals (precursor chemicals) is scheduled for destruction by December 2016. [17]

Capabilities

Inspections following Libya's 2003 renunciation of WMD confirmed a limited chemical weapons inventory consisting of sulfur mustard and precursors. As of February 2011, Libya claimed to have destroyed all of its declared CW delivery systems and 13.5 MT of its declared sulfur mustard inventory. [18] However, following the 2011 uprising, additional undeclared agents and more advanced undestroyed delivery systems were discovered at two sites, implying that the full scope of Libya's inherited CW stores remains undetermined. [19]

History

Early 1980s: Regional Competition Lays the Groundwork Several motivating factors drove Libya's offensive CW program in the 1980's. First, Libyan leader Colonel Mu'ammar Qadhafi felt compelled to compensate for Libya's military weaknesses relative to its likely regional opponents. Analysts frequently cite Israel's conventional military superiority and alleged nuclear program as a key motivating factor. Egypt - an ally of the United States, a rival for leadership in the Arab world, and a suspected chemical weapons state - may have also motivated Libya's CW program. [20] Contentious Egyptian-Libyan relations during the 1980's saw the armed mobilization of both armies at their mutual border at least once. [21] Libya's CW program represented a cost-effective asymmetrical means of bolstering its overall military strength vis--vis Egypt's conventional capabilities and Israel's alleged nuclear capabilities. [22] According to Western and Libyan exile sources, Libya pursued chemical weapons in concert with an aggressive program to develop a delivery capability. [23] Additionally, Libya pursued chemical weapons in the context of a regional buildup of CW capabilities. At the time, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria also faced allegations of concurrent CW proliferation. In particular, Iraq's use of chemical weapons on the battlefield during the Iran-Iraq War likely increased Tripoli's interest in a chemical weapons capability. [24]

1985 to 2003: Growing International Scrutiny and Concern During the mid to late 1980s, the Qadhafi regime began constructing three chemical weapons facilities. The first, 75 miles south of Tripoli at a site called Rabta, was named Pharma-150 and posed as a pharmaceuticals facility. Completed in 1998, some reports at the time alleged that Pharma-150 could manufacture at least 100 metric tons of blister and within three years. [25] Libya built a second facility, Pharma-200, underground at the Sabha army base 650 miles south of Tripoli, and a third facility, Pharma-300 or Rabta II, south of Tripoli at Tarhuna. Engineers built two 200-450ft tunnels covered by 100ft of sandstone shields and lined with reinforced concrete into Rabta II's outer walls, enabling it to withstand air attacks and potentially serve as a secure storage location. [26]

Allegations concerning the construction of the three sites exacerbated international suspicion of Qadhafi, who already faced allegations of supporting terrorism. In May 1981, reports emerged that Qadhafi sponsored attempts to assassinate U.S. diplomats in Rome and Paris, and the regime also came under suspicion for the 21 December 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. [27] Qadhafi also allegedly demonstrated a willingness to utilize chemical weapons, reportedly ordering sulfur mustard attacks against Chadian forces in September 1987. [28] Western analysts became concerned about Libya's presumed willingness and capacity to employ chemical warfare, albeit without decisive military effects.

In 1988, U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly introduced the possibility of a military strike to destroy the Rabta plant, a plan endorsed by President-elect George H. W. Bush. [29] In 1990, the U.S. intelligence community learned that China planned to supply Libya with roughly 10,000 tons of Sarin and precursors. [30] In May 1990, before the United States implemented its planned attack on the facility, a fire at the Rabta site reportedly destroyed the facility's production capabilities. [31] Upon discovering that a tire fire far from Rabta, and not a plant fire, had caused the smoke seen in reconnaissance satellite photos, the United States accused the Libyans of a hoax intended to discourage U.S. military action. [32]

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, details of foreign assistance to Libya's chemical weapons program emerged. In January 1989, the world found out that Imhausen-Chemie, a West German chemical company, had served as the "prime contractor" for the facility at Rabta since April 1980, and that several other West German companies contributed to lesser degrees. [33] While international criticism focused on Germany, Japanese firms also contributed to construction, and a total of twelve firms from both Western and Eastern bloc countries provided technology and materials. [34] Responding to U.S.-led pressure, a number of countries curbed industrial exports to Libya. [35] Three Imhausen employees, including the director, received convictions for illegally supplying CW materials to Libya in October 1991, with a fourth German national convicted in 1996 for facilitating Libya's acquisition of computer technology and other equipment to enhance chemical weapons development. [36] Ultimately, the tangible impact of these measures in isolating Libya remains unclear.

The CWC, opened for signature in January 1993, entered into force on 29 April 1997. Despite participating in the treaty's negotiations, Libya did not sign the CWC, joining Egypt and other Arab countries in rejecting the treaty because of Israel's alleged nuclear weapons arsenal, and arguing that chemical weapons could work only within the context of a regional WMD ban. [37] However, a few months before it officially announced that it would renounce its WMD programs, Libya attended the first CWC Review Conference (RevCon) from 28 April to 9 May 2003 as a non-state party.

2003 to the Present: Renunciation, Revolution, and Revelations In 2003, Libyan and British officials began secretly negotiating normalized relations between Libya and the international community. By October 2003, Libya consented to U.S. and British inspections of laboratories and military facilities to verify the state and extent of Libya's CW and other WMD programs. Finally, on 19 December 2003 the Libyan government publicly announced it would abandon all of its programs for developing weapons of mass destruction. Qadhafi pledged to abide by all relevant nonproliferation treaties, including the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Until publicly acknowledging its WMD programs in 2003, Libya had denied having a CW program and insisted that its chemical facilities were intended solely for peaceful purposes. [38]

On 20 February 2004, the OPCW received a partial declaration from the Libyan government detailing the country's chemical weapons stockpiles. [39] In the following weeks, OPCW inspectors monitored the destruction of 3,500 aerial bombs designed to deliver chemical agents, and began the process of verifying Libya's initial declaration of 50,700 lbs. (~23MT) of mustard agent and 2.9 million lbs. (~1,315MT) of nerve agent precursor chemicals. [40] On 19 March 2004, OPCW inspectors confirmed the presence of 23MT of sulfur mustard and approximately 1,300MT of sarin precursors. [41] The limited size of the Libyan arsenal the OPCW inspectors found surprised observers; Western sources had previously alleged that Libya had the capability to produce as much as 40 tons (~36.3MT) per month. [42] Additionally, inspections also revealed poor storage and maintenance. Libya kept its mustard gas in plastic containers that reacted chemically with their contents, leading to corrosion and leakage. [43] Additionally, Libya manufactured at least some of its CW agents to such poor quality that they likely began degrading rapidly and immediately upon synthesis. [44]

An independent U.S. government commission characterized the intelligence community's performance on Libyan CW as "modest" and lacking in technical rigor. [45] The commission noted an alarming tendency to erroneously equate materials procurement with CW capabilities, as analysts concluded assessments based only on the former and without awareness or regard for the additional scientific, economic, academic, and industrial realities of CW production. [46] The commission also noted an incentive structure that prioritized quantity, rather than quality, of intelligence assessments and, furthermore, a lack of incentive to develop the necessary expertise to perform thoroughly researched and technically accurate intelligence assessments. [47] The commission concluded that U.S. intelligence analysts overemphasized the importance of their Libya CW data, lacked both the incentive and the technical acumen to subject their conclusions to appropriate scrutiny, and ultimately, in concluding that Libya possessed a substantial CW capability, committed a "fundamental analytical error." [48]

After renouncing chemical weapons and joining the CWC, the Qadhafi regime projected an image of active participation in the operations and activities of the OPCW. The Qadhafi regime on a number of occasions called on other states in its region to follow its example and join the CWC. Despite swift initial progress in destroying munitions, the process of destroying Libya's existing CW stocks proceeded slower than expected under Qadhafi. In November 2005, the OPCW granted Libya an extension until December 2011 for destruction of its entire stockpile. [49] Although Libya and the United States initially agreed to cooperate on, and share the cost of, destroying Libya's CW stockpile, this agreement ended in June 2007 due to disputes over bureaucratic arrangements and the distribution of costs. [50] Before the 2011 uprising, the Qadhafi regime had stated its intent to partner with Italy for the construction of an appropriate chemical weapons destruction facility. [51] Upon the outbreak of the 2011 uprising and the fall of the Qadahfi regime, roughly 6.5 - 9.5 MT of sulfur mustard and 800 MT of precursor chemicals remained declared but undestroyed.

Recent Developments and Current Status

Speculation about the remnants of Qadhafi's CW stockpiles abounded during the 2011 armed uprising. Some analysts argued that Qadhafi did not use chemical weapons during the uprising because he may not have considered Libya's sulfur mustard weapons to be militarily or politically viable. [52] Jean Pascal Zanders further noted that any effort by Qadhafi to carry out a CW attack against Libyan rebels would be "extremely difficult" because Libya had "only a limited amount of aging chemical agent" and had already "destroyed all of its CW bomb casings." [53] Despite the escalation of protests into a fully armed rebellion that eventually overthrew the Qadhafi regime, neither loyalist nor rebel forces deployed chemical weapons at any point during the conflict, potentially indicating that Libya's CW stockpile was not in a position or condition to be readily deployed.

Following the establishment of the Libyan National Transitional Council, Libyan authorities announced the discovery of two sites containing additional undeclared chemical weapons assets. [54] Although press reports initially indicated that Libya had discovered artillery shells filled with mustard agent and potentially acquired from Iran, the OPCW has thus far only confirmed the discovery of mustard agent that "is not loaded into munitions," as well as empty munitions consisting largely of artillery shells with chemical weapons applications. [55] The discovery of additional hidden CW assets, primarily artillery shells, and the tumultuous end of the Qadhafi regime, opens the possibility that the international community may never know the true size and scope of Qadhafi's CW program and what remains of it. However, on-site inspections have revealed that the declared stockpiles were not compromised during the 2011 uprising. [56]

Even despite these positive steps however, the volatile conditions that continue to wrack post-civil war Libya, as well as the broader region, call into question the security of the remaining chemical stockpiles. According to a November 2014 OPCW report, Libya continues to move "towards the completion of the chemical precursors disposal phase." [60] However, given the "extraordinary circumstances," currently defining Libya's security landscape, the country is making efforts to explore "more efficient alternatives and searching for specific options to best ensure that Libya will fulfill its obligation to meet the destruction completion deadline." [61] The report states that about 846.2 metric tons, or 60%, of Libya's Category 2 chemical cache, still needs to be destroyed. [62]

Adding to these security concerns are questions of whether or not all Category 1 chemical weapons have in fact been declared and destroyed. February 2015 media reports allege that despite OPCW confirmation over the destruction of Libya's declared Category 1 chemical weapons, members of the so-called Islamic State terrorist organization have sized Libyan chemical weapons including mustard gas and sarin. [63]One Libyan military official explained, "Unfortunately [chemical weapons] exist in locations known to the militias, who have seized large amounts of them to use in their war against the [Libyan] army." [64] Such reports however, are not widely substantiated.

Sources: [1] Col (Dr.) Jim A. Davis, USAF, "A Biological Warfare Wakeup Call: Prevalent Myths and Likely Scenarios," The Gathering Biological Warfare Storm (Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: USAF Counterproliferation Center, 2002), p. 300. [2] Gordon M. Burck and Charles C. Flowerree, International Handbook on Chemical Weapons Proliferation (New York: Greenwood Press, 1991), p. 267; and Joshua Sinai, "Libya's Pursuit of WMD," The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, Spring-Summer 1997, p. 93. [3] Joshua Sinai, "Libya's Pursuit of WMD," The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, Spring-Summer 1997, pp. 93-95. [4] Qadhafi has turned over highly destructive weapons to terrorist groups before. In the 1980s, Libya provided the Irish Republican Army (IRA) with surface-to-air SA-7 missiles and tons of the plastic explosive Semtex. David Ottaway, "Middle East Weapons Proliferate," The Washington Post, 19 December 1988, p. A1. [5] Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "Initial Inspection in Libya Completed," OPCW News & Publications, 22 March 2004, http://www.opcw.org. [6] Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "Initial Inspection in Libya Completed," OPCW News & Publications, 22 March 2004, http://www.opcw.org. [7] The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, "Report to the President of the United States," 31 March 2005, pp. 254-262. [8] Jonathan B. Tucker, "The Rollback of Libya's Chemical Weapons Program," The Nonproliferation Review, March 2009, p. 373; and The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, "Report to the President of the United States," 31 March 2005, p. 254. Some Libyan CW agents were manufactured to such a poor standard that they rapidly degraded almost immediately upon synthesis. [9] Arthur Max, "Watchdog says Libya destroys chemical weapons," The Associated Press, 23 February 2011. [10] Jean Pascal Zanders, "Destroying Libya's Chemical Weapons: Deadlines and Delays," WMD Junction, 19 May 2011, http://cns.miis.edu/wmdjunction; Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "OPCW Inspectors Return to Libya," OPCW News & Publications, 04 November 2011, http://www.opcw.org. [11] Jomna Karadsheh, "Jibril: Two chemical weapons sites found in Libya," CNN, 30 October 2011, articles.cnn.com, accessed 8 March 2012; R. Jeffrey Smith, and Joby Warrick and Colum Lynch, "Iran may have sent Libya shells for chemical weapons," The Washington Post, 20 November 2011; Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "OPCW Inspectors Verify Newly Declared Chemical Weapons Materials in Libya," OPCW News & Publications, 20 January 2012, http://www.opcw.org. [12] "Libyan chemical weapons stockpiles intact, say inspectors," The Guardian (London), 4 November 2011. [13] "Libyan chemical weapons stockpiles intact, say inspectors," The Guardian (London), 4 November 2011; Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "OPCW Inspectors Verify Newly Declared Chemical Weapons Materials in Libya," OPCW News & Publications, 20 January 2012, http://www.opcw.org. [14] "Libya Destroys Bulk Mustard Agent Stocks," Global Security Newswire, 7 May 2013, http://www.nti.org. [15] Diane Barnes, "Destruction of Libyan Chemical-Loaded Arms Remains on Hold," Global Security Newswire, 11 September 2013, http://www.nti.org. [16]Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons "Libya Completes Destruction of its Category 1 Chemical Weapons,"OPCW News & Publications, 4 February 2014. http://www.opcw.org; "Libya 'Destroys all chemical weapons,'" BBC, 4 February 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk [17]Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons "Libya Completes Destruction of its Category 1 Chemical Weapons," OPCW News & Publications, 4 February 2014. http://www.opcw.org; "Libya 'Destroys all chemical weapons,'" BBC, 4 February 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk [18] Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "OPCW Director-General Meets Permanent Representative of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," OPCW News & Publications, 11 March 2011, http://www.opcw.org. [19] R. Jeffrey Smith, and Joby Warrick and Colum Lynch, "Iran may have sent Libya shells for chemical weapons," The Washington Post, 20 November 2011. [20] Joshua Sinai, "Libya's Pursuit of WMD," The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, Spring-Summer 1997, p. 92; Clyde R. Mark, "Libya," CRS Issue Brief for Congress, updated 2 May 2005. [21] "Libya Says Egyptians Plan to Attack," The New York Times, 30 November 1985, Section 1, Page 4; and "Qaddafi Announces Pullback of Troops on Egypt's Border," The New York Times, 29 March 1988, p. A-12. [22] Joshua Sinai, "Libya's Pursuit of WMD," The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, Spring-Summer 1997, p. 92. [23] Joshua Sinai, "Libya's Pursuit of WMD," The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, Spring-Summer 1997, p. 96. [24] W. Andrew Terrill, "Libya and the Quest for Chemical Weapons," Conflict Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1994, p. 49. [25] Department of Defense, the United States of America, Proliferation: Threat and Response, November 1997, http://www.defenselink.mil. [26] Kenneth R. Timmerman, Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Cases of Iran, Syria, and Libya (Los Angeles, CA: Simon Wiesenthal Center, August 1992), p.80. [27] "Terrorist Attacks on Americans, 1979-1988: The Attacks, the Groups, and the U.S. Response," PBS Frontline, 2001, http://www.pbs.org. [28] Proliferation: Threat and Response (Washington, DC: Office of the Secretary of Defense, April 1996), p. 26. [29] W. Andrew Terrill, "Libya and the Quest for Chemical Weapons," Conflict Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1994, p. 50. [30] Bill Gertz, "Chinese Move Seen as Aiding Libya in Making Poison Gas," Washington Times, 12 July 1990. [31] Kenneth R. Timmerman, "The Poison Gas Connection: Western Suppliers of Unconventional Weapons and Technologies to Iraq and Libya," Middle East Defense News, Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1990, p.31. [32] Michael R. Gordon, "U.S. Says Evidence Points to Hoax in Fire at Libyan Chemical Plant," The New York Times, 19 June 1980, p. A-8. [33] Kenneth R. Timmerman, Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Cases of Iran, Syria, and Libya, (Los Angeles, CA: Simon Wiesenthal Center, August 1992), p. 80. [34] W. Andrew Terrill, "Libya and the Quest for Chemical Weapons," Conflict Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1994, p. 49; and Joshua Sinai, "Libya's Pursuit of WMD," The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, Spring-Summer 1997, p. 92; U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, "Technologies Underlying Weapons of Mass Destruction," OTA-BP-ISC-115 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, December 1993), pp. 42-43; Kenneth R. Timmerman, Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Cases of Iran, Syria, and Libya (Los Angeles: Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1992), p. 80; Kenneth R. Timmerman, The Poison Gas Connection: Western Suppliers of Unconventional Weapons and Technologies to Iraq and Libya (Los Angeles: Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1990), pp. 114-127; and Bill Gertz, "Chinese Move Seen as Aiding Libya in Making Poison Gas," Washington Times, 12 July 1990. [35] Jonathan B. Tucker, War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda, (New York, NY: Anchor Books), p. 291. [36] "3 Germans jailed for selling equipment to Libya," The Gazette (Montreal), 10 October 1991; and Anthony H. Cordesman, Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East: Regional Trends, National Forces, Warfighting Capabilities, Delivery Options, and Weapons Effects (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1999), p. 17. [37] Jonathan B. Tucker, War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda, (New York, NY: Anchor Books), p. 320. [38] Serge Schmemann, "Belgian Charged in Illicit Shipment for Libyan Plant," The New York Times, 13 January 1989, p. A14. [39] Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "Libya Submits Initial Chemical Weapons Declaration," OPCW News & Publications, 22 March 2004, http://www.opcw.org. [40] Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "Libya Completes the First Phase of Chemical Weapons Destruction," OPCW News & Publications, 22 March 2004, http://www.opcw.org. [41] Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "Initial Inspections in Libya Completed," OPCW News & Publications, 22 March 2004, http://www.opcw.org. [42] W. Andrew Terrill, "Libya and the Quest for Chemical Weapons," Conflict Quarterly, Vol. 14 No. 1, 1994, p. 51. [43] Jonathan B. Tucker, "The Rollback of Libya's Chemical Weapons Program," The Nonproliferation Review, March 2009, p. 373. [44] The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, "Report to the President of the United States," 31 March 2005, p. 254. [45] The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, "Report to the President of the United States," 31 March 2005, p. 258. [46] The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, "Report to the President of the United States," 31 March 2005, p. 260-261. [47] The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, "Report to the President of the United States," 31 March 2005, p. 260-261. [48] The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, "Report to the President of the United States," 31 March 2005, pp. 261. [49] U.S. Department of State, "Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments," July 2010. [50] U.S. Department of State, "Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments," July 2010. [51] U.S. Department of State, "Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments," July 2010. [52] Arthur Max, "Watchdog says Libya destroys chemical weapons," The Associated Press, 23 February 2011; William Maclean, "Libya Lacks Means to Use Chemical Arms-Watchdog," Reuters, 27 February 2011; and Mark Hosenball, "Doubts Surround Gaddafi's Chemical Weapons Arsenal," Reuters, 2 March 2011. [53] Jean Pascal Zanders, "Uprising in Libya: The False Specter of Chemical Warfare," WMD Junction, 19 May 2011, http://cns.miis.edu/wmdjunction. [54] R. Jeffrey Smith, and Joby Warrick and Colum Lynch, "Iran may have sent Libya shells for chemical weapons," The Washington Post, 20 November 2011. [55] R. Jeffrey Smith, and Joby Warrick and Colum Lynch, "Iran may have sent Libya shells for chemical weapons," The Washington Post, 20 November 2011; Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "OPCW Inspectors Verify Newly Declared Chemical Weapons Materials in Libya," OPCW News & Publications, 20 January 2012, http://www.opcw.org. [56] Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "OPCW Inspectors Verify Newly Declared Chemical Weapons Materials in Libya," OPCW News & Publications, 20 January 2012, http://www.opcw.org. [57] "Libyan chemical weapons stockpiles intact, say inspectors," The Guardian (London), 4 November 2011. [58] "Libya 'Destroys all chemical weapons'," BBC, 4 February 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk. [59] Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPWC), "Report on the Overall Progress with Respect to the Destruction of the Remaining Chemical Weapons Stockpiles," November 28, 2014. http://www.opcw.org. [60] Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPWC), "Report on the Overall Progress with Respect to the Destruction of the Remaining Chemical Weapons Stockpiles," November 28, 2014. http://www.opcw.org. [61] Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPWC), "Report on the Overall Progress with Respect to the Destruction of the Remaining Chemical Weapons Stockpiles," November 28, 2014. http://www.opcw.org. [62] Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPWC), "Report on the Overall Progress with Respect to the Destruction of the Remaining Chemical Weapons Stockpiles," November 28, 2014. http://www.opcw.org. [63] Cristina Silva, "ISIS Chemical Weapons Libya: Military Warns Islamic State Might Have Mustard Gas, Sarin," International Business Times, February 22, 2015. [64] Cristina Silva, "ISIS Chemical Weapons Libya: Military Warns Islamic State Might Have Mustard Gas, Sarin," International Business Times, February 22, 2015.

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Libya | Countries | NTI

February 11, 2017 - 19:27

The Head of the Control Department at the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) Abdel Rahaman Al-Jali said that the linking of the western and eastern electric grids will have positive results on all Libyan cities.

Libyans will sense the difference once a failure or a damage happens to a certain area while another will be operating with power, so the GECOL will provide the first area with power through the linkage with the second area. He explained.

Speaking on TV, Al-Jali added on Friday that connecting Benghazi and the Green Mountains grids with the western one will stabilize the general power network and decrease the hours of outage.

He hailed the efforts of the maintenance teams in east Libya, the supervision division of the GECOL, executive department and control department in eastern Libya, saying he thanks them for their professional performance, which was without any foreign companies assistance.

GECOL announced that electric grids that connect eastern and western regions were joined again after two years of severance due to clashes in Benghazi.

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GECOL: Linkage of western and eastern electric grids beneficial for all Libyan cities - The Libya Observer

EU and Italy migration deal with Libya draws sharp criticism from Libyan NGOs Libya Herald Twelve Libyan non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have issued a joint statement criticising the EU's latest migrant policy as set out at the Malta summit a week ago as well as the Italy-Libya deal signed earlier which agreed that migrants should be ... and more »

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EU and Italy migration deal with Libya draws sharp criticism from Libyan NGOs - Libya Herald

US President Donald Trump has a unique chance to fix the mess in Libya by backing Gaddafis son Saif al-Islam as head of state.

Libya remains a dysfunctional state largely due to failed American policy. The 2011 Obama/Clinton support to Al Qaida affiliated groups in order to oust Muammar Gaddafi heavily backfired, with ISIS now profiting from the massive wave of immigration, which also destabilizes Europe.

President Trump has a unique chance to fix this terrible mess by backing the appointment of the leader of the Libyan national reconciliation, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, as head of state, the only man able to reunite the tribal nightmare in Libya, and to form a proper democracy, exterminate ISIS,and solve the immigrant crisis.

Millions marched in Libya July 1st, 2011 in support of the government of Muammar Gaddafi, and pleaded for NATO to stop the destruction of the country. At that time, the massive support for Gaddafi was not reported in the mainstream media, yet it was well known that Gaddafi had many supporters. Libya was Africas richest country, a socialist, welfare state with lavish benefits, free education, and good living standards. Since 2003, Libya had opened up towards the West in a liberalization process largely led by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who was instrumental in resolving the Lockerbie-bombing issue and paying damages to the victims families, deescalated the military, removing its nuclear arms and privatized the economy.

It was Saif al-Islam who freed the Bulgarian nurses in Benghazi, led the large scale Benghazi housing projects, created the Charity Gaddafi Association which helped poor countries in Africa, as well as worked diligently to democratize Libya. He called for a free press and hoped to issue a Constitution of the state. It was also Saif al-Islam who led the Reconciliation Project in 2006 between the government and the opposition, and the peaceful release of political prisoners, like Abdelhakim Belhadj and Khaled Sharef, most of whom joined the rebels and are controlling Tripoli now.

Libya was, prior to 2011, closely cooperating with the CIA and Western intelligence in order to eradicate the Sunni terrorist groups in the region. Gaddafi was an enemy of Al Qaida, which had tried to kill him several times. Under this cooperation, the US and Libya created stability in the region and controlled the immigration flow towards Europe.

Yet, by 2011, mainstream US news outlets and partisan NGOs were responsible for massively presenting misleading information that later turned out to be wrong, which served as a pretext for NATOs support for armed rebels to overthrow the Libyan government. The basis was that Gaddafi bombed his own people in what was described as a genocide. But already in early March, US secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that no such attacks could be confirmed. The Russian military monitoring the situation via satellite said that no planes had been in the air at the time in question. In the hands of the very few, any war may easily be ignited by using mainstream propaganda tools. As we know, 90% of the American media is owned by 6 corporations and only 62 individuals now own more than 50% of world assets.

Due to the diligent legal work of organizations such as Judicial Watch, we now know that the chosen Obama/Clinton allies in Syria were The Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafists and Al Qaida groupsGaddafis long term enemies. A Judicial Watch retrieved USA Defense Intelligence Report, dated August 12th, 2012 reveals the axis of alliance: The Salafists, Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaida in Iraq are the major forces driving the insurgency in Syria. The West, Gulf countries and Turkey support this opposition.

US foreign secretary John Kerry further enlightened us in his leaked conversation with Syrian oppositional groups, first published by The Last Refuge January 1, 2017. The secret conversation took place September 22, 2016 and in it Kerry states that the US was heavily arming rebels in Syria and watching ISIS grow and that the reason for the intervention of Russia, which the US heavily opposed, was that Daesh [ISIS] was threatening the possibility of going to Damascus. He also states that the American goal is to remove the Assad government in Damascusthe same goal as Daeshand that the Obama administration was hoping for ISIS to strengthen its position in Syria. Assad was threatened by ISIS, he says in the recording, and the administration thought it could probably manage the situation to force Assad to negotiate; but instead, Russia intervened to support Assad against the extremist group.

Thanks to Wikileaks, we also know that the authorization for the Libya war was Hillary Clintons achievement, which meant turning the state into an ISIS haven. Her notorious laughter when hearing about Gaddafis brutal death makes one realize what kind of ruthless gang of bandits that the US had aspolitical leaders, people with no respect whatsoever for national sovereignty or international law.

This American cartel activity is now out in the open to the point that president Donald Trump openly states that Obama is the founder of ISIS, co-founded by Hillary Clinton. Which, by the way must be a great joy to many Muslims, who for years have had their religion thrown in the dirt since Islam is barbarism, just watch ISIS. As it turns out, ISIS is American geopolitical barbarism at its worst.

Der Spiegel reporting on the finding of the ISIS organization chart, discovered in the house of killed ISIS strategist Hadj Bakr in 2015, further showed that ISIS was not particularly occupied with Islam, but rather much more about intelligence, surveillance, and military operations, and how to infiltrate and break down Syrian civil society. The chart shows remarkable resemblance to CIA organizational charts of covert operations, hardly easy for some rugged Sunni-Baathist remnants in northern Iraq to chart out.

Current ISIS leader in Libya Abdulhakim Belhadj, who was a leading NATO ally in 2011 and became the military governor of Tripoli after the war, long displayed his excellent relationship to republicans such as John McCain. The senator must be an exceptionally stupid individual, hailing on his own webpage Belhadj as a Libyan patriot whom we should support. He furthernotoriously assertedthat it was he and Lindsey Graham who convinced the Saudis to fund the opposition in Syriathus proudly stating that it was the US who got the Saudis into the whole Syrian mess.

Furthermore, the shocking scandal on how theObama/Clinton-backed government in Libya have detained thousands of prisoners for years and kept them without trial in Libyan jails, is currently, maybe, the worlds worst example of lack of respect for the Geneva convention and the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment in war. Human Rights Watch has long complained about this. Sources on the ground state that as many as 35,000 Gaddafi loyalists have been incarcerated and continually detained without trial since 2011. This is happening in Tripoli, Misrata, and other places in Libya under the Western backed leadership and underObama/Clintons watch.

The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and its ISIS leader, Belhadjthe great friend of senator John McCainis, according to Libyan sources, currently controlling these prisons, there among the Hadba Prison in central Tripoli, where Libyan leaders and Al-Saadi Gaddafi have been kept since 2014. Al-Saadi is currently very ill and urgently needs proper medical attention or he will probably die. In the aftermath of the Arabic network Clear News 2015 release of the documented torture of Al-Saadi Gaddafi under the Western backed government, nothing much has been done. It was a shocking video that raised serious questions about the treatment of prisoners.

It is now reported from Tripoli that around 7,000 of the 35,000 thousand detainees are women, many being as old as 80 years of age. They have been in these prisons for six years. UN Human Rights groups, now active in Libya in order to try to solve this situation, are of course fully aware of the utter disgrace this is to Western powers, who helped instigate the Libyan tragedy. Sources on the ground state that ISISs support is now faltering in Libya as the movement has little local supportallegedly always, by the way,paying its bills in euros or US dollars. Saif al-Islam now has united the tribes and strategically positioned his allies all over the country.

A final point. Libya was extremely rich before 2011, on the verge of implementing the gold dinar and working toward implementing broad African unity under this currency. At that time, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), constituted in 2006, had over $150 billion in assets invested world-wide.The financial accounts from 2010 display a full overview of detailed accounts and contents of its LAFICO, LAP, OIL Invest, LTP and LLIDF branches. In the vault of the Libyan Central Bank alone lay 144 ton of gold.

What the mainstream US media spoke of in 2011 as Gaddafis personal wealth turned out in large part to be the Libyan Investment Funds and contents of the Libyan Central Bank, public institutions to which Gaddafi had no direct access. This was reportedly again stated on December 12, 2016, to the Official Libyan Channel by the vice chairman of the Presidential Council in Libya, Ahmad Maiteeq. He was addressing the issue of the $67 billion or more US dollar investments currently available outside Libya, the ban on the Libyan Central Bank now having been liftedthe question, of course, again being the dire necessity to control who withdraws what, in order to ensure that the Libyan funds are not continually disappearing into various personal accounts, as has been a vast problem since 2011.

So, ever since ex-president Obama managed to shed a tear and call the Libya war the worst mistake of his presidency, we are still waiting to see action and the US and associates to release back to responsible rulers in Libya its billions in assets. If you regret stealing, bombing, and destroying peoples lives, you should also return the money and pay damages.

The national Libyan assets never belonged to the US Obama/Clinton administrationor its affiliated international cartel friends. Yet, according to sources on the ground, the US still control part of the LIA, Libyan Central Bank, and oil revenues through its liaisons with the Western backed Tripoli government, where the current Central Bank governor, Sadiq al-Kabir, the link to IMF and other Western institutions. The LIA currently consists of $67 billion investments, yet in 2011 its frozen assets were around $150 billion. Many wonder what happened to the discrepancy and hope to establish in the future who took what.

President Trump has a golden moment in history to breach some of the terrible reputation the US now have all over the globe, as US war-mongering and ruthless foreign policy has caused unspeakable damage to millions of innocent civilians, traumatized by loss and bitterness, outside the USs own borders. It is obvious that the Trump administration aims to team up with more moderate forces in the Middle East. When Gaddafi was in the US, it was Trump property he placed his tent on. Repeatedly Trump admits that getting rid of Gaddafi was a big mistake, stating that Libya would be a 100 % better country if Gaddafi had not been killed, Sources now state that more than one million Gaddafi supporters live in Egypt, waiting to return to Libya, and around 300,000 in Tunisia.

Peace in Libya would for certain award the US President a great name as a peace broker in history. The solution to the Libyan crisis is to support the Green movement and The Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya, now nationally unified behind London School of Economics-educated Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. The push is for equality, prosperity and stability, away from division, exclusion and marginalizationthe reunification of the Libyan people under one democratic, tribal-backed leader. The development will be most interesting to follow in the months to come.

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Could Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Solve the Libya Crisis? - Foreign Policy Journal

Johannesburg Airstrikes carried out by the Libyan National Army (LNA) on the Jufra airbase in the centre of the country have killed two people and wounded another 13.

The Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) were the targets of the strikes although there were other militias in the area, including those from Misrata situated on the Mediterranean coast, the Libya Herald reported on Friday. Before the attack, local residents reported that they heard the sound of planes overhead.

The attacking aircraft took off from the Al Khadim base, in Al Marj in north-eastern Libya, used in recent weeks by fighter jets from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The UAE maintains a military base that supports the operations of Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya.

Haftar's Emirati allies want to maintain a presence on Libyan territory in order to act in support of his military operations, and to protect his main base in AL Marj.

Haftar, a former loyalist of the late Muammar Gadaffi, has gained popularity in the eastern city of Benghazi for fighting Islamic militants.

Violence also continues to plague in the Abu Saleem and Salahadeen neighbourhoods of the capital Tripoli.

Clashes erupted several days ago between the Abu Saleem Central Security Force belonging to Abdul Ghani Al Kikli and gunmen loyal to the Salah Al Burki militia, most of them from Misrata.

During the fighting tanks and heavy mortar were used forcing residents to stay indoors.

There were also reports of shooting in Ain Zara and Tajoura. Meanwhile, the UN Special envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, is to be replaced by former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

The decision to replace Kobler was made by the new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

So far there has been no official confirmation, although a leaked letter from Guterres to the UN Security Council on Wednesday announcing the appointment had been circulating on social media. In it Guterres thanks Kobler for his service.

Responding to the move the former Libyan representative to the UN Ibrahim Dabbashi criticised the UN for failing to consult Libyan authorities before making the decision. During his last days as the UN's Libyan envoy Kobler has slammed a European Union (EU) proposal on how to deal with the thousands of desperate African refugees who attempt the perilous sea journey to Europe, using Libya as the point of departure.

Earlier in the week criticised a European Union (EU) plan to send migrants back to Libya and suggested such a decision would be a violation of international standards and the Geneva Convention.

You cant send them (migrants) back to camps where they will go hungry, be tortured and raped, he said. In his final report to the Council Kobler said: The citizens of Libya deserve security and an end to the rampant crime and lawlessness.

Kobler was a personal appointment by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The new special envoy, US-educated Salam Fayyad, was Palestinian finance minister from 2002 to 2005 and Palestinian prime minister from 2007 to 2013. His background is in finance, having previously worked for both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and is regarded as having been a successful finance minister.

Seen as both a conciliator and a pragmatist, Salam Fayyad will, however, have his work cut out for him in trying to implement a Libyan Political Agreement that is widely seen as broken and unimplementable, the Herald reported.

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Libya airstrikes kill two - Independent Online