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."
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