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Libya Ends Military Trade With Countries of “Proliferation Concern” By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — Libya has agreed to end all military trade with countries considered to be of serious “proliferation concern” — specifically Iran, North Korea and Syria, the U.S. State Department announced yesterday (see GSN, May 5). Libya’s decision was announced yesterday in a Libyan statement read by U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton during a State Department press briefing. In its statement, Libya said the move stemmed from its decision late last year to dismantle its WMD programs. “Libya will not deal in any military goods or services with states which Libya considers to be of serious weapons of mass destruction proliferation concern,” Bolton said, quoting the statement. Agence France-Presse reported today, however, that the Libyan Foreign Ministry said that its announcement did not specifically identify any countries as being barred from arms trade with the African nation. “The Libyan statement was clear, it cited no country and was not aimed at Syria,” AFP quoted the ministry as saying in a statement carried by the official news agency JANA. “Tripoli cannot say that Syria has WMD since it is a peaceful country whose land is occupied and is threatened by Israel,” the ministry said. Bolton praised the Libyan decision, calling it a sign of Tripoli’s intent to renounce weapons of mass destruction and to rejoin the international community. “When a state like Libya, which was pursuing weapons of mass destruction and advanced delivery systems, not only gives up the pursuit of those assets, but says it’s not going to have military dealings with other states that are pursuing weapons of mass destruction, I think that’s a very important step forward,” he said. Libya also plans to announce that it will end all trade in missiles and related items with countries that are not members of the Missile Technology Control Regime, which seeks to restrict the spread of critical missile technologies by establishing common export controls among its 33 members, Bolton said. An announcement is “imminent,” a State Department official told Global Security Newswire today. Wade Boese of the Arms Control Association told GSN today that the announcements are more symbolic than significant, and are probably intended to provide assurances that Libya will not renege on its promise to no longer possess missiles beyond the MTCR parameters, capable of carrying a 500-kilogram payload over a 300-kilometer range. During yesterday’s press conference, Bolton said the Libyan move would affect North Korea, which he said has used exports of ballistic missiles and related technologies to fund “other dangerous activities,” such as its nuclear efforts. Libya purchased a large portion of its missile arsenal from North Korea, including five Scud C and “several hundred” Scud B missiles, Bolton said. “This is a symbol by Libya of a decision not to have any further purchases from North Korea of any military goods or services, particularly on the missile front. It is consistent with what we have urged other states in the region to cut off their purchaser relationships with North Korea, as part of our overall effort to squeeze North Korean WMD sales to reduce the amount of money they have for their nuclear weapons program,” he said. The impact of Libya’s decision regarding Iran and Syria is less clear. Bolton yesterday refused to provide details as to what military-related trade Libya has engaged in with the two countries. “Not to get into the specifics, the point is, Iran and Syria are very serious proliferant states, states we consider, in the case of Iran, of sufficient concern,” he said. The State Department official said there is a public record of Libya’s past history of military cooperation with Iran. For example, a CIA report says that during the first half of 2003, Libya had been dependent on entities in Iran and other countries for aid to its missile program. Syria, however, has long been known as a purchaser of military technologies and not an exporter, Boese said. He said the only military equipment Syria could likely export was “antiquated” Soviet-era items. Yesterday’s statement may instead have been intended, along with a White House announcement earlier this week imposing economic sanctions against Syria, to further isolate and pressure Damascus into changing its policies, Boese said. The Bush administration may be attempting to render Syria “untouchable” by mentioning it along with the other two members of the so-called “axis of evil” — Iran and North Korea, he said (see GSN, May 13). “Even Libya, a former terrorist state, is breaking ties with them,” Boese said. The Syrian Embassy in Washington did not return calls for comment by deadline. Bolton did not discuss whether the Libyan announcement covered military trade with Pakistan. Earlier this year, top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan confessed to transferring Pakistani nuclear technology to Libya, along with Iran and North Korea. “The question of Libya’s dealings with the other countries that I’ve indicated is that we have discussed with the Libyans the three countries that I’ve named,” Bolton said. “That’s what we have to say about it,” he added. Unlike Syria, the United States does not want to lump Pakistan in with Iran and North Korea because it understands the “sensitive position” of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and does not want to place him in a “tighter spot,” Boese said. Bolton yesterday refused to comment on whether the United States was close to restoring full diplomatic ties with Libya, saying only that “the course ahead has been determined by prior negotiations.” Already, the United States has removed most of the economic sanctions standing against Libya and has begun laying the framework to restore diplomatic ties with Tripoli. It has not yet taken Libya off the list of terrorism-sponsoring nations (see GSN, April 26). Bolton also said yesterday that there were still aspects of Libya’s WMD dismantlement that need to be completed, including disposing of nerve agent stocks and addressing the issue of the fate of Libya’s Scud B arsenal. According to reports, the United States is considering allowing Libya to maintain its Scud B missiles after converting them to shorter ranges (see GSN, April 12). In addition, “longer-term implementation issues” still need to be resolved, Bolton said. “We’re satisfied with the progress we’ve made. This announcement today is a further step in that direction,” he said.
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