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UN Finds High Enriched Uranium on Libya Centrifuges
By Louis Charbonneau
(Reuters)
VIENNA - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report on Friday it had found traces of high and low enriched uranium on Libyan nuclear centrifuges, as it found on identical Pakistani-made centrifuges in Iran last year.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said in the report, obtained by Reuters, that a university in Tripoli had "a research laboratory and associated equipment that would be of some use for supporting nuclear weapon related research and development."
However, the agency said it had found no evidence that Libya had begun building a nuclear warhead.
The agency said unanswered questions about Tripoli's nuclear weapons program, abandoned in December 2003, included "the sources of low enriched and high enriched uranium contamination found on gas centrifuge equipment in Libya."
The uranium traces on the centrifuges, which Libya bought on a black market linked to Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, would appear to support Iran's assertion that bomb-grade uranium found on its centrifuges last year had come from the machines' previous owners in Pakistan.
But in order to verify that the contamination came from Pakistan -- referred into the IAEA report as the "supplier state" -- the IAEA needs "to confirm this conclusion by taking and analysing environmental samples from that supplier state."
Diplomats close to the IAEA said Islamabad has refused to let the IAEA take samples of its enriched uranium.
Centrifuges are used to purify uranium for use as nuclear fuel in power plants, or when very highly enriched, for bombs.
The U.N. watchdog said Libya had "provided prompt, unhindered access to all locations requested by the agency and to all relevant equipment and material declared to be in Libya."
Libya has also provided clear answers to most of the IAEA's questions, the report said.
"However, (they) have not always been able to provide supporting documents to augment their short December 2003 timeline" of Libya's weapons program. The IAEA said this limited its ability to fully verify Libya's declarations.
The Libya report, written by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, said the investigation of Tripoli's nuclear activities would continue and that the agency would submit another report on Libya's weapons program to the IAEA board in September.
(Additional reporting by Francois Murphy)
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(emphasis added)
Just curious, since a growing number of people seem to think that Iran should be next on our list of countries to "liberate." If Pakistani lack of quality control is what has led to IAEA findings in Iran this could discredit some of the compelling WMD arguments against them, couldn't it?
Phaedrus
UN Finds High Enriched Uranium on Libya Centrifuges
By Louis Charbonneau
(Reuters)
VIENNA - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report on Friday it had found traces of high and low enriched uranium on Libyan nuclear centrifuges, as it found on identical Pakistani-made centrifuges in Iran last year.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said in the report, obtained by Reuters, that a university in Tripoli had "a research laboratory and associated equipment that would be of some use for supporting nuclear weapon related research and development."
However, the agency said it had found no evidence that Libya had begun building a nuclear warhead.
The agency said unanswered questions about Tripoli's nuclear weapons program, abandoned in December 2003, included "the sources of low enriched and high enriched uranium contamination found on gas centrifuge equipment in Libya."
The uranium traces on the centrifuges, which Libya bought on a black market linked to Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, would appear to support Iran's assertion that bomb-grade uranium found on its centrifuges last year had come from the machines' previous owners in Pakistan.
But in order to verify that the contamination came from Pakistan -- referred into the IAEA report as the "supplier state" -- the IAEA needs "to confirm this conclusion by taking and analysing environmental samples from that supplier state."
Diplomats close to the IAEA said Islamabad has refused to let the IAEA take samples of its enriched uranium.
Centrifuges are used to purify uranium for use as nuclear fuel in power plants, or when very highly enriched, for bombs.
The U.N. watchdog said Libya had "provided prompt, unhindered access to all locations requested by the agency and to all relevant equipment and material declared to be in Libya."
Libya has also provided clear answers to most of the IAEA's questions, the report said.
"However, (they) have not always been able to provide supporting documents to augment their short December 2003 timeline" of Libya's weapons program. The IAEA said this limited its ability to fully verify Libya's declarations.
The Libya report, written by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, said the investigation of Tripoli's nuclear activities would continue and that the agency would submit another report on Libya's weapons program to the IAEA board in September.
(Additional reporting by Francois Murphy)
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
(emphasis added)
Just curious, since a growing number of people seem to think that Iran should be next on our list of countries to "liberate." If Pakistani lack of quality control is what has led to IAEA findings in Iran this could discredit some of the compelling WMD arguments against them, couldn't it?
Phaedrus
