The Arms Control Primer Better know a non-nuke: Libya
Dec 18, 2025
Dr. Hassan Elbahtimy, a War Studies lecturer at King's College London, and Robert Kelley, a seasoned nuclear engineer, delve into Libya's nuclear aspirations from Gaddafi's rise to the 2003 renunciation. They discuss Libya's connections with the A.Q. Khan network and the implications of discovering Pakistani weapon designs. The conversation reveals how political motives and strategic backchannel diplomacy influenced Libya’s nuclear decisions and critiques the concept of the 'Libyan Model' for non-proliferation. Their insights highlight the complexities of verification and the importance of state capacity.
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Decades Of Ambition, Little Coherent Progress
- Libya's nuclear drive spanned decades but remained unfocused and inconsistent.
- Long rule by Muammar Gaddafi and weak institutions meant ambitions never coalesced into a robust program.
Black Market Parts, No Feedstock
- Libya bought centrifuges and parts from A.Q. Khan's network but lacked the feedstock and gas-making capability.
- The procurement showed black-market reach but limited practical progress toward a bomb.
Funds Spent On Sewage And Microscopes
- Robert Kelley recounts how Libya's research boss spent program funds on infrastructure, not weapons.
- He bought water and sewage fixes and an electron microscope unrelated to weapons work.