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Libya’s Continuing Responsibility
for Terrorism
Introduction
This White Paper is designed to provide context for the
allegations in the US and Scottish indictments of Libyan
nationals for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in
December 1988. To this end, the Paper discusses the
attitude of the Qadhafi government toward terrorism and
outlines Libyan responsibility for terrorist acts.
Based on analysis of Libyan behavior over many years, on
the results of investigating the bombing of Pan Am Flight
103 since 1988, and on the structure of the Libyan regime
and the relations among leading officials in that regime, we
conciude that the bombing of Pan Am 103 was not an
aberration and was an action authorized by the Libyan
Government. Libya’s support for terrorism began in the
earliest days of the Qadhafi regime. As early as 1972,
Libyan leader Mu‘ammar Qadhafi publicly offered to help
extremist movements— including the Provisional Irish Re-
publican Army and the Black Power movement in the
United States— and to support any group in the Middle
East willing to attack Israel. Qadhafi dispatched terrorists
to Italy in 1973 to shoot down an Israeli airliner and at least
as early as 1975 ordered the murder of Libyan dissidents
living abroad. Although dissidents historically have posed
little— if any— threat to Qadhafi’s rule, the Libyan leader
has concentrated on eliminating them. Assassinations took
place in the early and mid-1980s and included two
attempts (one of them successful)
against Libyan
students in the United States.
Libyan involvement in and support of terrorism expanded
throughout the early 1980s. Tripoli provided passports to
Abu Nidal organization (ANO) members who attacked the
El Al ticket counter at the Vienna airport in December 1985.
Libya also sponsored the bombing of the La Belle disco in
Berlin
in April 1986 that killed three people, including two
US servicemen.
Over the years, even as Libyan agents and their proxies
planned and carried out terrorist attacks, Qadhafi regularly
sought to calm international concerns through public
denunciations of terrorism. For example,
in 1977, Qadhafi
plotted to assassinate a US Ambassador, just after
assuring President Carter that he sought good relations
with the United States. Moreover, Qadhafi periodically has
issued public denials of his involvement in terrorism while
his intelligence apparatus was preparing for acts of
terrorism
(see inset on page 3)
.
Libyan action has not been limited to Israeli and Western
targets.
In the mid-1980s Libya backed plots against
President Mubarak of Egypt, former President Nimeiri of
Sudan, President Mobutu of Zaire, former Tunisian Presi-
dent Bourguiba, and former President Habre of Chad.
In
addition to using and supporting terrorism, Qadhafi also
has a long history of trying to subvert governments in
Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The Record Over the Past Five Years
The 1986 airstrjke on Libya by the United States, com-
bined with other international pressures, did not end
Tripoli’s support for terrorism. Following the air attack,
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Qadhafi and Kidnapping
The hollowness ofQadhafi’s rhetoric is best illustrated by
Libya's longstanding involvement in kidnapping , despite
his regular denunciations of such acts. In 1978, Libyan
intelligence officers kidnapped Imam Musa Sadr, the
spiritual leader of the Lebanese Shia community, just
after he arrived in Tripoli. Musa Sadr eventually died in
Libyan captivity. Throughout the 1980s, Qadhafi publicly
denounced the illegal detention of hostages by extremist
groups in Lebanon. Yet in April 1986, Libya bought and
arranged for the murder of three Western hostages in
Lebanon , including American Peter Kiiburn. More re-
cently, in November 1987 the Abu Nidal organization
(ANO) hijacked the yacht Silco in international waters .
The hostages— Belgian and French nationals—were
released in stages, with the last detainees freed in
January 1991. The yacht was seized by ANO elements
under the direction of the Libyan intelligence service,
and some of the hostages were even held on Libyan soil.
Qadhafi began to use front companies and other organiza-
tions to hide Libya’s hand
(see inset on page 4)
.
In
addition, Qadhafi has placed a premium on masking
Libya’s support for terrorism in an attempt to avoid
jeopardizing Libya’s economic links to his African neigh-
bors and major European trading partners. The Libyans
sponsored a series of anti-US operations immediately after
the US airstrikes in April 1986. Tripoli was responsible for
the shooting of a US Embassy communicator in Sudan on
15 April 1986 and for the shooting of another Embassy
communicator in Sanaa, North Yemen, on 25 April 1986. In
addition, two Libyans were apprehended on 18 April 1986
as they attempted to attack the US Officers Club in Ankara
with grenades obtained from the Libyan People’s Bureau
there. The Libyans confessed that they were ordered to
cause the maximum number of casualties, particularly
women and children.
We believe that Libya was responsible for the destruction
of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21
December 1988 and that senior government officials
involved in previous terrorist attacks around the world
orchestrated the operation. Forensic evidence indicates
that the bomb’s timer was unique to Libyan inventories,
and an official of the Libyan national carrier, Libyan Arab
Airlines, used his credentials to circumvent security proce-
dures in Malta to assist in the operation.
Over the past several years, Libya has provided assistance
to Palestinian terrorists, enabling them to launch attacks
against Israel and Western targets:
•
In May 1990, Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) members
attempted a seaborne raid on Israel; the operation failed,
and four terrorists were killed and 12 captured. Libya
provided the group with training, sophisticated equip-
ment, weaponry, and the mother ship used in the
operation.
•
In July 1988, ANO operatives attacked the Greek cruise
ship The City of Poros, killing nine and wounding over
1 00
people. Libya provided the weapons used in the
operation.
Libya has regarded Africa as an attractive environment for
its operations and
is responsible for several attacks there:
• On 30 October 1991, a French judge issued international
arrest warrants, charging four Libyan officials with
involvement in the bombing of UTA Flight 772 in
September 1989.
•
In March 1990, Libyan diplomats were expelled from
Ethiopia after a bomb exploded in the Hilton Hotel in
Addis Ababa,
in an apparent attempt to
kill the Israeli
Ambassador who was staying there.
•
in February 1988, two known Libyan terrorists were
arrested in Dakar, Senegal, in possession of explosives
and weapons.
•
In October 1987, a bomb exploded in the office of World
Vision, a private relief organization operating in Moudou,
Chad. Libyan diplomats based
in Cotonou, Benin,
assisted the terrorists who carried out the attack.
•
In March 1987, a bomb exploded at the cafe “L’Historil”
in Djibouti, killing
1 and wounding 50. The Libyans
ordered a Palestinian group, the Popular Struggle Front,
to conduct the attack or risk losing Tripoli’s financial
support.
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Comparing Qadhall’s Public Statements on Terrorism With the Facts
The Fiction: Libya “rejects terrorism, including the
killing of peaceful, innocent old men, women, or children
anywhere, be it on board a plane or anywhere else.
Tripoli Domestic Service, 5 September 1986,
The Fact: Libya provided financial and logistic support to
the Abu Nidal organization hijacking of Pan Am Flight
073 in Karachi, Pakistan, in which 21 passengers were
killed and 120 wounded, 5 September 1986.
The Fiction: Libya denounces the Provisional Irish
Republican Army (PIRA) bombing in Enniskillen, North-
ern Ireland, in which
1 1 died and 65 were injured. JANA,
10 November 1987.
The Fact: French authorities intercepted a ship carrying
150 tons of arms and explosives provided by the
Government of Libya and destined for PIRA in Ireland,
31 October 1987. Four earlier shipments successfully
arrived at their destination.
The Fiction: “The Great Jamahiriyah does not practice
terrorism, nor does it support it.
Colonel Qadhafi,
1 1 February 1988.
The Fact: Pan Am 103 exploded over Scotland, 21 De-
cember
1 988, killing 259 persons on board and
1 1 citi-
zens of Lockerbie on the ground. Libyan involvement is
certain.
The Fiction: Libya “has affirmed and continues to affirm
that it denounces and opposes terrorism." JANA, 9 April
1989.
The Fact: Libyan agents, under the direction of senior
officials in Tripoli, sabotaged UTA Flight 772, which
exploded over Niger, killing all 171 people aboard,
19 September 1989.
The Fiction: Referring to the PLF raid on Israel, Libya
said that it “has no connection and no relation with that
operation.
JANA, 6 June 1990.
The Fact: Libya materially assisted the 30 May 1990 raid
by the PLF on Israel, which was launched from the
Libyan coast, by providing the operatives with extensive
training, military hardware, and navigational equipment.
The Fiction: Qadhafi told the Egyptian press in June
1991 that “Abu Nidal is not operating at all. The world
hasn’t heard anything about him for years
.
.
. Abu Nidal
is not in Libya.
The Fact: The ANO remains headquartered in Tripoli,
and Abu Nidal himself is known to meet with Colonel
Qadhafi. November 1991.
The Libyans have supported terrorist groups in Europe,
particularly the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA)
,
which Colonel Qadhafi has called a popular national
liberation movement. Throughout the mid-1980s, Libya
provided the group with arms. Libya’s hand was openly
revealed in October 1987, when French authorities inter-
cepted a freighter, the Eksund, off the coast of France and
seized
1 50 tons of weapons and explosives destined for the
PIRA. Libya has also provided financial support to the
PIRA.
Since April 1986, Libyan assassins have murdered three
anti-Qadhafi Libyan dissidents residing in Greece,
Italy,
and France. Tripoli has continued to target other exiles
deemed “opponents” of the Libyan Government.
Current Support lor Terrorism
Despite the efforts of the international community, Libyan
involvement in terrorism today remains extensive. Tripoli
is
one of the largest financiers of terrorists worldwide, and
it
continues to permit terrorist groups to operate at camps
throughout Libya.
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The Libyan Use of Terrorist Fronts
Because of public exposure of the role of Libyan
People’s Bureaus (LBPs ) in international terrorism in the
early 1980s, Libya has over the past few years shifted
some of its terrorist support operations to other institu-
tions. These institutions include the Islamic Call Society,
student organizations and friendship societies, and
Libyan front companies. By using multiple organizations,
Libya is able to continue its activities even if one group is
exposed.
Front companies provide Libyan operatives with cover
and deception capabilities. Some of these companies
probably were established as legitimate corporations,
but they have been blackmailed into cooperating with the
Libyan intelligence services. The front companies typi-
cally establish a partnership with local nationals to
enhance their cover. The companies’ partners rarely
know that they are dealing with Libyan intelligence
officers or Libyan businessmen taking orders from the
Libyan Government.
Libyan front companies known to have been directly or
indirectly involved in terrorist operations over the past
decade include Exo-Commerce and Sarra or Sarrah.
For example, under the guise of a “legitimate” business,
the Benin-based Sarrah company infiltrated arms and
explosives into neighboring African countries for terrorist
acts in the late 1980s. Another front company, the Greek-
based Germa Shipping and Stevedoring Company,
owned the Tiny Star, the mothership used in the 30 May
1990 PLF attack on Israel, launched from a. Libyan port.
In addition, other businesses are surrogates of the
Libyan intelligence service. Neutron international is
run by Musbah Warfalli, an architect of Libyan attacks
against Libyan dissidents in the early 1980s. The Libyan
Arab Foreign Investment Company, or LAFICO, is
wholly owned by the Libyan Government and is some-
times used by the Libyan intelligence service for cover
purposes. The General Arab African Company is a
major trading company serving as a front for Libyan
intelligence throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
Even Libyan businessmen not readily identified with the
Libyan intelligence service or a front company have been
used in operations. For example, in January 1991 the
Chadian Government arrested two Libyan agents posing
as businessmen who were apparently attempting to
smuggle explosives into Ndjamena. We have reason to
believe that many other Libyan businessmen and busi-
nesses worldwide are linked to the Libyan intelligence
service.
Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA) is the government-owned
national flag carrier, providing scheduled passenger and
cargo service to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Although it conducts legitimate activities, LAA has been
used to transport arms, explosives, and terrorists. Among
the Libyans implicated in supplying arms to the PIRA
from 1985 to 1987 was an LAA employee. An LAA flight
was used in the August 1986 escape of six terrorists
believed to be responsible for the 3 August attack on the
British base at Akrotiri, Cyprus. The six were disguised as
airline crewmembers, and the captain made false state-
ments to airport authorities about the crew's size to
disguise their presence. The airline remains well posi-
tioned to assist in an attack, particularly since at least 30
percent of LAA employees posted abroad are Libyan
intelligence officers.
The Islamic Call Society ( ICS), created by the Libyans
to propagate Islam, is used for legitimate religious
purposes, but Qadhafi also exploits the organization’s
philanthropic reputation to advance his terrorist agenda.
The ICS office in Curacao assisted separatists who
bombed a government office in Cayenne, French Guy-
ana, in January 1 987. For much of the
1 980s, Tripoli used
its Call Society office in Cotonou, Benin, to recruit and
fund terrorists in the region.
The Libyans also use travel agencies around the world to
facilitate the movement of local terrorists to Libya for
advanced training. The agency normally books dissi-
dents/ terrorists for travel through third countries so their
ultimate destination—Libyan terrorist training
camps—goes undetected.
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