You know, I congratulate the Libyan rebels for taking Tripoli and that victory is significant. But as the rebels continue to take more territory, and they come upon the weapons caches of the old regime, there is a big concern here that those weapons will make their way into the black market. Stuff like chemical weapons or MANPADS in the hands of islamic militants comes to mind. (estimates are at around 20,000 of these shoulder fired missiles in Libya’s stockpiles)
In Iraq, securing the ammunition storage facilities after the initial invasion was non-existent. There was just too much going on and not enough resources. Eventually units were able to secure these depots, but not after they were ransacked. And then as everyone remembers, much of those ransacked munitions were used by the insurgency to attack the coalition.
The other thing to remember is that it was contractors that came in and cleared those depots of munitions. The CMC program that the Army Corps of Engineers ran in Iraq is what I am talking about. So the question I have is who in the rebel command is in charge of securing the ammunition depots in Libya as terrain is taken, and is this effort even coordinated?
My other question is do we know who these rebels are and who they do business with? I posted about this when the war first kicked off, and also made the point that a huge number of suicide bombers from Libya made their way to the Iraq battlefield back in the day. Jihadists are in Libya and who knows what they have been able to grab during the chaos of this war.
Going back to the idea of who will help secure or remove munitions in Libya, it will more than likely be a contractor. I don’t know if it would be a US contractor, but someone close to France or Italy might have a shot. Or those countries might reach out to specific contractors of other countries to help get this done. But to me, this is just one of many dilemmas to focus on as Libya transitions. Hat tip to Jack Murphy over at Kit Up for putting together that photo below. –Matt
Edit: 08/23/2011- I wanted to post this story in regards to contractors cleaning up these munitions. We are already contracting with MAG and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Clearance to find and clean up munitions.
This photo came from Kit Up's Jack Murphy. Notice the SA -7's?
U.S., NATO concerned about Libya’s stockpile of weapons
08/22/2011
Washington (CNN) — The U.S. and NATO have been quietly talking to National Transitional Council officials for the last several weeks about securing Libya’s remaining stockpiles of mustard gas and other weapons material in the event the Gadhafi regime fell, U.S. officials confirm. Topping the list of worries is Libya’s stockpile of mustard gas.
“The opposition forces are being asked to keep track of what’s going on” with both weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the regime’s inventory of surface-to-air missiles, a NATO official said.
“We have had direct eyes on the storage facilities” of the WMD for some time, the official said, including the use of satellites, drones and other surveillance aircraft.
The official also confirmed that intelligence personnel from the U.S. and other countries have been in Libya in recent weeks to help maintain security at various sites, although he could not confirm Western personnel are currently at those locations. “Individual nations have folks on the ground,” he said.
A U.S. official also confirmed U.S. intelligence personnel have been involved in monitoring WMD stockpiles inside Libya. Both officials declined to be identified because of sensitive intelligence matters.
“We hope those items don’t get out of control” of the NTC, the U.S. official said. He also noted the U.S. and NATO have told the NTC that now that it has been recognized by many countries, its personnel must conduct themselves within the realm of international law.
Congress is already underscoring the worry. “In particular, we must ensure that (Moammar) Gadhafi’s stockpiles of advanced weapons, chemical weapons and explosives don’t fall into the wrong hands,” said Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Michigan, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee in a press statement. Rogers is also concerned about the Libyan inventory of anti tank rockets and plastic explosives.
CNN reported earlier this year that Libya still has approximately 10 tons of the deadly blister agent left in its arsenal, according to an assessment from the Arms Control Association. Much of the material has been located at the Rabta chemical weapons facility south of Tripoli.
1n 2003, Libya agreed to destroy its entire chemical weapons arsenal, which included some 25 tons of mustard gas and 3,300 empty aerial bombs. The entire stock of shells and bombs was literally crushed by bulldozers in 2004.
U.S. officials say any chemical weapons material that remains in Libya would be difficult to “weaponize” into a form that could be used to conduct attacks, and it’s not clear Libyan forces would follow any orders to conduct such attacks.
Story here.