- The U.S. agrees with Israeli assessments that Libya has
renewed its efforts to acquire a nuclear bomb, and that those efforts have
been stepped up since 1999, when the UN sanctions on the country were removed.
-
- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said this week that Libya
is energetically seeking to develop a nuclear weapon. Israel believes that
Libya is trying to acquire fissionable material for nuclear weapons through
centrifuges, but that it is a slow process. Experts say that Libya may
be cooperating with North Korea and Pakistan in the effort. The prime minister
mentioned the same assessment, though he also raised the possibility the
Libyans are getting aid from Iraqi experts. Sharon told media interviewers
that it's possible that Libya will achieve nuclear status before Iraq.
-
- Libya is considered Egypt's "backyard," and
it is doubtful that Egypt could miss spotting extensive nuclear efforts.
The Egyptian leadership knows the American administration suspects Libyas
nuclear infrastructure.
-
- Bolton noted that on March 25, Libyan leader Muammar
Gadhafi told Al Jazeera TV that "we demanded the dismantling of Israel's
weapons of mass destruction, otherwise the Arabs have the right to be equipped
with the same weaponry."
-
- He described Libyan chemical weapons development, and
spoke about their purchases of chemical materials in the Middle East, Asia
and Western Europe, and noted that the Libyans had developed a ground-to-ground
missile with the help of Serbia, India, North Korea and China. But he also
said that Libya condemned the terror attack on the U.S. last year and that
there had been great progress in the state's reduction of support for terror.
-
- Bolton was recently in Israel, meeting with various people
including Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan, the outgoing head of the National Security
Council.
-
- Libya has been prominently listed on the State Department
list of states that support terrorism but there was talk about removing
it from the list this year
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- http://www.haaretzdaily.com
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