Terror Trends Bulletin

Just as we feared, dangerous missiles have gone missing in Libya by the tens of thousands.

Over the past month we have posted 3 articles about serious questions surrounding the new regime attempting to take total control in Libya and the disposition of thousands of sophisticated weapons in Colonel Qaddafi’s arsenal:

https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/just-who-are-these-rebels-in-libya/

https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/washington-times-jihadists-plotting-to-subvert-revolution-in-libya/

https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/more-worries-about-libyas-new-regime-and-weapons-on-the-loose/

Many of the rebels are Jihadists with ties to organizations like Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. That makes the fact that as many as 20,000 surface to air missiles are missing in Libya all the more worrisome.

There are two types in question: the SA-7 and the SA-24 (see our previous post above for details on these systems). The SA-24 is by far the more sophisticated of the two and is believed to be highly coveted by terrorists, Hugo Chavez and the Iranians alike:

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0907/The-deadly-dilemma-of-Libya-s-missing-weapons

Fortunately, there are at least some reports that indicate that the Libyan SA-24s are NOT man-portable, but require a mount for a vehicle, as depicted in the photograph above. They are still deadly, but this characteristic might make them less useful for terrorists operating in a covert manner. Nevertheless, they could be very useful for hostile regimes, such as Iran and they could also be used by insurgents in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and elsewhere.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:e6d7cd5f-8bef-4f72-a64f-c98fdf99a7a0

These missing weapons and the Jihadist-ties of the rebels in Libya represent one of the biggest failures in the history of NATO.

It is quite probable that NATO supported and facilitated an Islamist revolution in Libya made up at least partially of the West’s deadliest enemies. To make matters worse, despite the fact that NATO forces were in a position to operate with impunity in Libya if needed–and despite the fact there have been reports for months about Libya’s arsenal of weapons and what might happen to them, thousands of sophisticated surface to air missiles have gone missing.

There is simply no excuse for this development. NATO’s top priority never should have been to aid the rebels. NATO’s top priority should have been to secure Libya’s weaponry and NATO failed to do so. As a result, there is a very good chance that innocent people will be killed.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/nightmare-libya-20000-surface-air-missiles-missing/story?id=14610199

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/27/report-20000-heat-seeking-missiles-may-be-missing-from-libyan-warehouse/

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/07/exclusive-libyan-missiles-looted/