Libya looks to reclaim 1,000s of missing missiles
U.S. official said Friday that tell us tonight that the United States is offering to help Libya buy back sophisticated missiles from the militias that overthrew dictator Muammar Qaddafi. The missiles were left unguarded during the fighting. Now there's worry they could fall into the wrong hands.
CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer found out just how easy those missiles are to come by.
Whenever the Libyan government does get hold of a batch of shoulder launched anti-aircraft missiles, defense technicians systematically disable the guidance systems -- smashing them with hammers.
But such programs are a drop in the bucket. One hundred seventy were destroyed when CBS News visited -- but thousands are believed missing and the fear is they're finding their way into the hands of smugglers.
As an al Qaeda training video shows, the shoulder-fired missiles are a weapon of choice for terrorists.
This fall, CBS News went to visit a bunker outside Tripoli where explosives experts did recover seven vehicle-mounted surface-to-air missiles. But they had to leave at least two behind, wedged under concrete at an unguarded site
Everyone wants these missile secured. But Libya's government is not enthusiastic about the U.S. plan, now under consideration, to buy them back.
A Libyan military source tells CBS News that "the government doesn't want to create a black market for these weapons."
Libya has launched its own program to re-integrate the rebel fighters who toppled Qaddafi. Turn in your weapons, they're told, and in return you can have a job, interest-free loans, or education.
A buyback program for missiles might threaten these efforts, if rebels believe there is more money selling deadly missiles.
