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Libyan Nuclear, Missile Components Arrive in United States
A shipment of materials from Libya’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs arrived in the United States yesterday as part of Tripoli’s pledge to dismantle its WMD efforts, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 27). According to McClellan, a C-17 transport plane left Tripoli Monday night and flew to an airport outside of Knoxville, Tenn., early yesterday morning. Onboard the plane were both sensitive documents and “about 55,000 pounds” of equipment related to Libya’s nuclear weapons and missile development efforts, McClellan said. The shipment also contained uranium hexafluoride, uranium enrichment centrifuge components and guidance sets for longer-range missiles. Yesterday’s shipment follows one last week of “the most sensitive documents” related to Libya’s nuclear weapons program,” McClellan said. He added that the equipment that arrived yesterday is now being stored at a secure facility in Tennessee. “While these shipments are only the beginning of the elimination of Libya’s weapons, these shipments, as well as the close cooperation on the ground in Libya, reflect real progress in Libya meeting its commitments,” McClellan said. Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi “made a courageous decision to give up his weapons, and through this transparent process, the world can see that Colonel Qadhafi is keeping his commitment,” McClellan added (White House release, Jan. 27). A senior Bush administration official said a U.S. transport plane would be sent to Libya early next month to bring back another shipment of nuclear materials, according to CNN.com. “They had a lot of stuff,” the official said. “We have more plans to take materials out, but this is quite a step forward,” the official added (Elise Labott, CNN.com, Jan. 27). In addition to removing equipment and materials from Libya, McClellan said that U.S. officials have started to destroy “unfilled chemical munitions” in Libya (White House release). Asked if Libya’s cooperation so far would aid efforts in restoring ties with the United States, the senior administration official said, “Given what we got out in the last planeload and (that) their cooperation has been excellent, it is time to consider it” (Labott, CNN.com). McClellan said yesterday, though, that there were no plans yet to reward Libya’s cooperation. “Libya is on the road. They’re moving in the right direction. This reflects real progress, but there is more to do, as well,” he said (White House release). One Bush administration official also said that it has not been proved that Libya has ceased its support for terrorism, according to the Associated Press. Therefore, the U.S. State Department is not ready to remove Libya from the list of terrorism-sponsoring countries, and as a result some economic sanctions will remain, the official said (Barry Schweid, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 27).
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