ACCESSION NUMBER:00000 FILE ID:96041103.POL DATE:04/11/96 TITLE:11-04-96 PENTAGON WARNS OF NEW CHEMICAL WEAPONS PLANT IN LIBYA TEXT: (Releases report on worldwide weapons proliferation) (1000) By Jacquelyn S. Porth USIA Security Affairs Correspondent Washington -- Libya is currently building a chemical weapons plant that, when completed, could pose "a potential threat" to the whole international community, the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Army Lieutenant General Patrick Hughes, said April 11 as the Pentagon released a new unclassified report on proliferation around the world. Entitled, "Proliferation: Threat or Response," the 110-page document, which was 18 months in the making, details the growth of nuclear, chemical, biological weapons and the ballistic missiles needed to deliver them. Hughes told reporters at the Pentagon that the Qadhafi regime is in the process of building a chemical weapons production facility below ground at Tarhunah, some 60 kilometers southeast of Tripoli. While the chemical plant is not yet operational, he suggested that it could be in another year and would then pose "a potential threat." He said the Tarhunah facility appears to be the same size as Libya's Rabta chemical facility, which was completed in 1988 but which is currently inactive due to a fire six years ago. Asked to characterize Tarhunah, the military official said it is designed to produce "weaponized chemical materials." The new DOD report states that Libya, under the leadership of Muammar Qadhafi, "remains a potential threat to the international community and neighboring states." The Libyan leader, it says, "has demonstrated his desire to acquire ballistic missiles and an NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) weapon capability as well as his willingness to use the capabilities at his disposal." Asked about the U.S. capability to deal with the Tarhunah facility, Hughes said the United States could deal adequately with such a facility if it should become necessary. Asked to explain further, Ashton Carter, assistant secretary of defense for international security policy, said, "We are exploring a variety of military techniques." The report notes that Libya is one of the few countries in the past decade to have used chemical weapons, dropping chemical agents on Chadian troops in 1987. Defense Secretary Perry described weapons of mass destruction as "a wild card" and noted that the Defense Department wants to ensure that "no one believes or tries to demonstrate that weapons of mass destruction can be used as an equalizer against U.S. conventional forces." Speaking at the April 11 Pentagon briefing, Perry told reporters that Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, China and the South Asian region all pose proliferation challenges. Protecting, controlling and accounting for fissile materials in Russia also poses a distinct challenge, he said. Perry said the United States is seeking to prevent proliferation by reducing weapons in the former Soviet Union, primarily through the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program. It is also using ad hoc agreements, such as the Korean Framework Agreement, to control proliferation, as well as sanctions against countries such as Iran and Iraq and export controls. Proliferation is also deterred by the existence of a superior U.S. military force equipped with a strong conventional force and a smaller but effective nuclear force, the secretary said. The Pentagon's counter-proliferation initiative involves putting new protective gear into the field and pursuing theater ballistic missile defenses for near term threats and establishing the capability to pursue a national missile defense, if needed, in the future. Perry cited a number of successes in countering proliferation including the denuclearization of Ukraine, Kazakstan and Belarus; the indefinite extension last year of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; the conclusion of the North Korea Framework Agreement; and the establishment of a defense group within NATO to deal with proliferation issues. At the same time, he said there is "no reason to be complacent" about past successes because it is important to build upon existing ones. Stressing that one area where complacency must be avoided is Northeast Asia, Hughes said North Korean weapons development efforts represent "a probable threat" in the long term. Asked if North Korean ballistic missiles pose a threat to the American state of Alaska, the military intelligence official said it would take the North Koreans several years of "unimpeded" technical progress to achieve that capability. Looking toward the Middle East, the DIA official suggested that an international inspection regime should be maintained in Iraq because chemical and biological weapons there are still a large concern. Assessing Iran, Hughes said Iranian military capability appears to go beyond what is required "for mere defense." Carter detailed U.S. investments for counter-proliferation: $3,166 million for active defenses; $1,094 million for counter forces; $707 million for passive defenses; $414 million for command, control, communications and intelligence; $612 million for prevention; $74 million for terrorism and paramilitary responses; and $7,810 million for nuclear deterrent forces. Carter noted that the Pentagon has initiated a new program with the former Soviet Union, the Baltic states and Eastern Europe which is designed to help prevent nuclear smuggling. He also noted that DOD emergency response teams have been formed to deal with terrorists using chemical and biological weapons. The teams could be dispatched to U.S. military commanders-in-chief in various geographic regions of the world or to civilian authorities who need expert assistance. Carter described the problem of proliferation as "a daunting challenge." While much is being done to prevent, deter, and defend against proliferators, he stressed, still more must be undertaken. But regardless of the scope of the U.S. and international effort, the official warned that no one will be able to be successful all of the time in every place. The Pentagon report notes that the Defense Department has been working with European and Asian allies to develop a common approach to the counter-proliferation problem. The United States and Japan, for example, are working together "to identify the theater missile defense capability Japan will need and to evaluate options for acquiring that capability in future years, including opportunities for cooperative programs." NNNN .
