While Americans have swiftly forgotten events that led to the demise of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, U.S. intelligence services are still anxiously searching for thousands of portable heat-seeking missiles that they suspect may have already begun finding their way into the internation black market for weapons.
Libya’s new prime minister, Abdurrahim el-Keib, discussed the issue with U.S. officials during a visit last week that included a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
A senior Libyan official told The Washington Examiner that the post-Gadhafi government has made finding the missiles a priority, but that they fear many may already have left the country in the hands of Islamic extremists.
“We’ve located only 5,000 of the weapons,” the Libyan official said. “Finding these weapons is a priority, but it looks more likely that the missing [weapons] are already outside of Libya and locating them will not be easy.”
After Gadhafi was killed on Oct. 20, Libyan inspection teams, along with U.S. agents, began a manhunt for 20,000-plus man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS, that went missing after the Arab Spring revolt. Only 5,000 have been located thus far, and fears have intensified that the missiles and other dangerous weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles and other small arms stolen from the dictator’s stockpile are flooding the black market.
The State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs is working closely with Libyan counterparts to locate the missing weapons systems.
Andrew J. Shapiro, assistant secretary of state in charge of the bureau, noted the dangers last month, saying, “shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles pose a major threat to passenger air travel, the commercial aviation industry, and possibly military aircraft around the world. … Any successful attack could therefore have very harmful economic effects not only in the region where the attack occurred, but also in countries around the world.”
Beth Gosselin, a State Department spokeswoman, told The Examiner “we continue to watch for the signs that [the weapons] are circulating for sale.”
The U.S. has given $5.75 million to private international agencies that specialize in destroying weapons and protecting stockpiles in an effort to lessen the threat from weapons in Libya, Gosselin said. She emphasized that Libya has the lead on efforts to locate weapons. But the U.S. has civilian technical specialists on the ground in Libya assissting in the search, and plans to commit $34.3 million to Libya in an effort “to reduce risk and mitigate the threat.”
Jim Phillips, a senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs with the Heritage Foundation, said he would not be surprised if the majority of missing heat-seeking missiles were already out of the country. But he added that militia groups within Libya might be holding on to some.
“It’s going to be very difficult to put all of these things back in Pandora’s box,” Phillips said.
“My number one concern is al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” he said, referring to the terrorist group founded in Algeria with direct ties to the main al Qaeda affiliate.
Phillips said the weapons could also end up in the hands of groups like Hamas, in the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip, as well as any popular resistant groups throughout the Middle East.
Sara A. Carter is The Washington Examiner’s national security correspondent. She can be reached at [email protected].
