Thread: 20000 Shoulder Launched Surface-to-Air Missiles Looted Libya

20,000 SA-24 Shoulder Launched Surface-to-Air Missiles Looted From Libyan Warehouse

Mac Slavo
September 7th, 2011
SHTFplan.com
35 Comments
CNN video at the link



As rebels reportedly (again) overtake Gaddafi’s forces in Libya, CNN and the Associated Press report that a warehouse in the region has been looted, and unidentified individuals have gained access to shoulder-launched surface to air missile systems:

A potent stash of Russian-made surface-to-air missiles is missing from a huge Tripoli weapons warehouse amid reports of weapons looting across war-torn Libya.
They are Grinch SA-24 shoulder-launched missiles, also known as Igla-S missiles, the equivalent of U.S.-made Stinger missiles.
A CNN team and Human Rights Watch found dozens of empty crates marked with packing lists and inventory numbers that identified the items as Igla-S surface-to-air missiles.
…
“We are talking about some 20,000 surface-to-air missiles in all of Libya, and I’ve seen cars packed with them.” he [Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch emergencies director] said. “They could turn all of North Africa into a no-fly zone.”

According to reports, these are Russian made, advanced surface to air missiles capable of taking down military helicopters and planes, as well as commercial airliners.
Popular Mechanics indicates that there may have been in excess of 20,000 of these or similar types of missiles in Libya before NATO military action began. It is not known how many have disappeared. According to the report, commercial airliners are completely defensless (unless you’re flying El Al, based out of Israel, which has had defense capabilities for such threats for quite some time):

With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 nearly upon us, it’s worth remembering that after the attack, Congress was ready to build greater defenses into commercial airliners, including jamming equipment to confuse missiles like Gaddafi’s missing MANPADs. But after eight years of funding and no results, the White House quietly ended the program last year.

What we have here is a serious terrorist threat emerging. According to a wide array of reports available in mainstream and alternative news, it is clear that the no-fly-zone in Libya included ‘rebel’ foot soldiers on the ground – and many of those soldiers are reportedly either members of, or sympathetic to, elements of Al Queda. We now have missiles disappearing in areas where rebels have taken control. Once those weapons get out of Libya, they can easily make their way into Western Europe, and perhaps even the USA via drug cartel armament smuggling operations to Mexico.
These missiles can go as high as 11,000 feet. Plenty of altitude if you are trying to down a commercial airliner on take-off or approach. For those who would be interested in killing hundreds of people at a time and scaring the global public into a panic, this could be the perfect terrorist weapon.
While US government officials are taking steps to make it as difficult as possible for Americans to purchase handguns and semi-automatic weapons because they may reportedly end up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels, it’s curious to say the least, that no one thought securing these warehouses in Libya was critical to safety and security. It’s almost as if someone wants to enable extremists in the region with the weapons to wreck havoc on Western nations.

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-new...house_09072011

ya wanna know the really F'n Hillarious side to all of this

THERE WASNT 20,000 F'n SA-24 Shoulder Launched Surface-to-Air Missiles roaming the Country side until NOW

NOW THAT WE BOMBED THE SHIT OUT OF ANOTHER 3rd WORLD COUNTRY; UN-INTENDED CONSEQUENSES and STUPID PEOPLE / POLITICIANS HAVE JUST UNLEASHED HELL ON EARTH

LETS SEE

The Robber Barrons STOLE the Libyan Peoples Gold; they took over the Libyan Peoples Oil Fields; Installed a Central Bank within days (THAT WAS A WORLD RECORD)

but on the Flip Side of the Tarnished coin; we put TERRORISTS in Charge of Libya and now 20,000 Advanced SA-24 Shoulder Launched Surface-to-Air Missiles roaming the Country side

WHAT THE "F" COULD GO WRONG

LETS SEE; WHO IS THE ONLY POLITICIAN TRYING DESPERATELY TO GET YOU OUT OF THE 5 CURRENT WARS

Who Keeps warning about

Entangling Alliences and Un-Intended Consequences

DAMN I HATE STUPID PEOPLE

5 Things To Know About Libya's Missing Antiaircraft Missiles

News reports today say that shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles from Muammar Gaddafi’s stockpiles in Libya have gone missing, just as PM feared at the war’s outset. Here’s what you need to know about these weapons and aircraft defenses against them.

A defected Libyan soldier explains to a group of rebels how to use a shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missile (SA-7). Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

By Joe Pappalardo Comments
September 7, 2011 4:00 PM

UPDATE: CNN originally reported that shoulder-mounted SA-24s have gone missing in Libya. But arms control experts now tell PM that there’s no evidence of gripstocks for the missiles in Libya. That means that any SA-24s looted from Gaddafi’s stockpiles could be vehicle-fired, but not shoulder-fired. This makes them less of a terrorist threat.

That said, the proliferation of these missiles on the black market is still a large concern, especially in other parts of the world where gripstocks might be available that would allow the weapons to be used as Man Portable Air Defense (MANPAD) missiles. Even in Libya, sources tell PM, there is evidence of shoulder-firing capability for the less-sophisticated SA-7s.

News from reporters and Human Rights Watch personnel in Libya say that Russian surface-to-air missiles have been looted from a Libyan warehouse. The SA-24 missiles, made in Russia, can shoot down an aircraft flying at 11,000 feet. SA-7 missiles, like the one seen here, have been reported missing, too.

Popular Mechanics has been tracking this threat since the outset of the conflict in Libya—and before. Here’s the need-to-know summary on antiaircraft missiles, including some things you probably didn’t know.

1. The Libyans Have Plenty in Their Arsenal


When the Libyan war broke out this spring, PM worried about this very scenario: Muammar Gaddafi’s stash of Russian-made surface-to-air missiles, including SA-7s and the more sophisticated SA-24s, disappearing from his armories. (Though, as we reported in April, Russia shipped the SA-24s to Libya without gripstocks, meaning the missiles couldn't be should-mounted, but also meaning that Russia didn't have to report how many missiles it shipped.) There may have been as many as 20,000 such missiles in Libya before the war began, U.S. military leaders have told Congress, and Human Rights Watch told CNN that surface-to-air missiles are the first thing it has seen go missing from Gaddafi weapon stockpiles.

2. There Is an Active Black Market


Even before the Libyan War, there was intensive buying and selling of Man Portable Air Defense (MANPAD) missiles on the worldwide black market. Russia and the United States both sold these missiles actively back in the 1980s, but now both countries are trying—perhaps in vain—to keep them out of the hands of terrorists.

3. There Is an Industry Dedicated to Jamming These Sophisticated Antiaircraft Missiles


Tucked away in a small New Hampshire town is defense contractor BAE Systems’ Jam Lab, a research hub dedicated to creating aircraft defenses against missiles like those that have disappeared from Libya. PM got to pay a visit.

4. But the Military’s Helicopters Could Be Vulnerable to Even Cruder Threats


As we were reminded last month by the shooting down of a Chinook helicopter carrying Navy SEALs, many military helos are now equipped with defenses to throw infrared-guided missiles off the trail by firing chaff and flares. Yet they remain unguarded against less sophisticated weapons like a rocket-propelled grenade.

5. Domestic Airliners Have No Defenses


With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 nearly upon us, it’s worth remembering that after the attack, Congress was ready to build greater defenses into commercial airliners, including jamming equipment to confuse missiles like Gaddafi’s missing MANPADs. But after eight years of funding an no results, the White House quietly ended the program last year.


Read more: 5 Things To Know About Libya’s Missing Antiaircraft Missiles - SA-24 Missiles - Popular Mechanics

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technol ... =pm_latest

Escobar: Al-Qaeda asset is military commander of Tripoli

Video: http://rt.com/usa/news/al-qaeda-libya-c ... cobar-269/

Pepe Escobar said that an al-Qaeda asset is now leading the military of rebel-controlled Libya.

According to Escobar, Abdelhakim Belhadj, who commanded a military offensive in Libya over the weekend, has become the de facto commander of the Tripoli armed forces. Belhadj has also, says Escobar, was trained in Afghanistan by a “very hardcore Islamist Libyan group

EXCLUSIVE: Libyan missiles looted

Video at the link: http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/0 ... ?hpt=wo_c2

CNN's Ben Wedeman and Ingrid Formanek reporting from Tripoli, Libya -

TRIPOLI, Libya (CNN) - A potent stash of Russian-made surface-to-air missiles is missing from a huge Tripoli weapons warehouse amid reports of weapons looting across war-torn Libya.

They are Grinch SA-24 shoulder-launched missiles, also known as Igla-S missiles, the equivalent of U.S.-made Stinger missiles.

A CNN team and Human Rights Watch found dozens of empty crates marked with packing lists and inventory numbers that identified the items as Igla-S surface-to-air missiles.

The list for one box, for example, written in English and Russian, said it had contained two missiles, with inventory number "Missile 9M342," and a power source, inventory number "Article 9B238."

Grinch SA-24s are designed to target front-line aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and drones. They can shoot down a plane flying as high as 11,000 feet and can travel 19,000 feet straight out.

Fighters aligned with the National Transitional Council and others swiped armaments from the storage facility, witnesses told Human Rights Watch. The warehouse is located near a base of the Khamis Brigade, a special forces unit in Gadhafi's military, in the southeastern part of the capital.

The warehouse contains mortars and artillery rounds, but there are empty crates for those items as well. There are also empty boxes for another surface-to-air missile, the SA-7.

Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch emergencies director, told CNN he has seen the same pattern in armories looted elsewhere in Libya, noting that "in every city we arrive, the first thing to disappear are the surface-to-air missiles."

He said such missiles can fetch many thousands of dollars on the black market.

"We are talking about some 20,000 surface-to-air missiles in all of Libya, and I've seen cars packed with them." he said. "They could turn all of North Africa into a no-fly zone."

There was no immediate comment from NTC officials.

The lack of security at the weapons site raises concerns about stability in post-Gadhafi Libya and whether the new NTC leadership is doing enough to stop the weapons from getting into the wrong hands.

A NATO official, who asked to not be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said 575 surface-to-air missiles, radar systems and sites or storage facilities were hit by NATO airstrikes and either damaged or destroyed between March 31 and Saturday. He didn't elaborate on the specifics about the targets.

Gen. Carter Ham, chief of U.S. Africa Command, has said he's concerned about the proliferation of weapons, most notably the shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. He said there were about 20,000 in Libya when the international operation began earlier this year and many of them have not been accounted for.

"That's going to be a concern for some period of time," he said in April.

Gilles de Kerchove, the European Union counterterrorism coordinator, raised concerns Monday about the possibility that al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, based in North Africa, could gain access to small arms, machine guns and surface-to-air missiles.

Western officials worry that weapons from the storage sites will end up in the hands of militants or adversaries like Iran.

The governments of neighboring Niger and Chad have both said that weapons from Libya are already being smuggled into their countries, and they are destined for al Qaeda. They include detonators and a plastic explosive called Semtex. Chad's president said they include SA-7 missiles.

An ethnic Tuareg leader in the northern Niger city of Agadez also said many weapons have come across the border. He said he and other Tuareg leaders are anxious about Gadhafi's Tuareg fighters returning home - with their weapons - and making common cause with al Qaeda cells in the region. Gadhafi's fighting forces have included mercenaries from other African nations.

The missing weapons also conjure fears of what happened in Iraq, where people grabbed scores of weapons when Saddam Hussein's regime was overthrown.

Bouckaert said one or two of the missing artillery rounds are "enough to make a car bomb."

"We should remember what happened in Iraq," he said, when the "country was turned upside down" by insurgents using such weaponry.

There have been similar concerns in Afghanistan, where the United States provided thousands of Stinger missiles to the Afghan mujahedeen when they were fighting the Soviets in the 1980s. The United States has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to buy them back, fearful that they would fall into the hands of terrorists.

CNN's Emily Smith, Tim Lister, Joe Sterling and Larry Shaughnessy contributed to this report

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/0 ... ?hpt=wo_c2

U.S. Worried Terrorists May Get Libya's Missing Surface-to-Air Missiles

By Patrick Goodenough
September 9, 2011


An Iraqi insurgent fires a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. government is concerned that al-Qaeda and other terrorists may take advantage of the disarray in Libya to acquire unsecured Gaddafi regime weaponry including surface-to-air missiles, President Obama’s counterterrorism adviser said Thursday.“We have indications that individuals of various stripes are looking to Libya and seeing it as an arms bazaar,” John Brennan told reporters at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. “We are concerned about the potential for certain weapons to get into the hands of terrorists – AQIM [al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb] or others.”

Brennan said the administration was pressing Libya’s Transitional National Council (TNC) authorities “to take the appropriate steps to secure those weapons stockpiles.”

“We’re continuing to make this a high priority for us,” he continued. “They know – the TNC officials and security officials know that it is important. They see it as a serious problem for themselves too, and they are working aggressively to, again, identify any type of opportunity that the terrorists may take advantage of.”

But pointing to the size of Libya and the large number of weapons there, he acknowledged that it would take “some time in order to ensure that they’re going to be appropriately secured.”
During a 9/11 anniversary event on Wednesday, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, Brennan also referred to the weapons concerns, pointing out that a lot of Libya was currently “ungoverned.”
He also observed that a number of senior al-Qaeda terrorists are Libyan nationals – “so it’s important for us to be able to work with the new Libyan government.”

It was reported this week that thousands of shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, including almost 500 advanced Russian-made SA-24s (known in Russia as the Igla-S, and by NATO as Grinch), were unaccounted for in Libya, having gone missing from a looted regime arms depot.
Shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles, also known as “man-portable air defense systems” (MANPADS), can be operated by a single individual. Ease of operation, portability and relatively low cost make them a weapon of choice for terrorists wanting to target civilian or military aircraft.
According to U.S. government data, more than 40 civilian aircraft have been hit by MANPADS over the past four decades, resulting in some 800 deaths.

Rebels used the weapons to shoot down a plane carrying the presidents of Burundi and Rwanda in 1994, an act that helped to trigger the genocide that claimed more than 800,000 lives.
In one known al-Qaeda use, terrorists tried unsuccessfully to down an Israeli airliner shortly after it took off from an airport in Kenya in 2002.

The U.S. government has helped to destroy more than 26,000 MANPADS in two dozen countries.

“Worldwide, the U.S., over more than a decade, has been in the business with international partners of trying to ensure safety, security, and destruction where possible, of MANPADS,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a press briefing late last month.

“This is part of a bipartisan – in fact, it’s spanned two administrations – effort to get rid of MANPADS because they are a very dangerous, unstable weapon, and if they fall into the wrong hands, they can be extremely disruptive, as we’ve seen around the world,” she said.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-w...e-air-missiles

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Al Qaeda may capture Khadhafi's weapons stockpiles, say lawmakers

- Jim Kouri
Friday, September 9, 2011

As the American people prepare to honor those who died at the hands of radical Islamic terrorists on the 9-11 Tenth Anniversary, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee warned that the U.S. must make certain Libya dictator Moamar Khadhafi’s stockpiles of weapons don’t end up in the hands of terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda.

Rogers appeared on the CNN news with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

“And I’m not talking about boots on the ground or big military. We need to use our special capabilities that really only the United States has to secure, account for those weapons and render them safe. And we need to do it now,” he added.

“I will tell you al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations identified by the State are very interested in getting their hands on those missile systems, other weapons, even the chemical stockpile precursors,” cautioned Rogers.
Lieberman added that the U.S. officials are working with the Libyan rebels to make certain the weapons stockpiles are secured. “We’re working with them to try to secure both the mustard gas and the munitions that I worry would fall otherwise in the hand of enemies of the U.S., including terrorists,” Lieberman said.
Rogers also said Libya’s transition government needed to avoid the same kind of mistakes that were made in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein: mistakes such as dismissing all of their military and their intelligence apparatus. They need to co-opt some of that in the next few weeks, Rogers stated.
The lawmakers also claim federal government made much progress in fighting terrorism and said that Americans are “safer” a decade after the attacks on September 11, 2001.
“I believe we are safer, but there are still plenty of folks that get up every single morning with the sole intention of planning, conducting, financing an operation against the United States of America,” said Rogers.
“I don’t think anybody on September 12, 2001, would have predicted in the following ten years there would not be another major terrorist attack on the homeland, and there has not been,” he added. “We’re still in a war … tragically it’s going to go on for a while, but we are a lot safer.”


http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/40189

Pepe Escobar: Al-Qaeda asset leading rebels in Tripoli

Video: http://www.personalliberty.com/feature- ... n-tripoli/

Bob Livingston is an ultra-conservative American who has been writing a newsletter for 42 years. Bob has devoted much of his life to research and the quest for truth on a variety of subjects. Bob specializes in health issues such as nutritional supplements and alternatives to drugs, as well as issues of privacy (both personal and financial), asset protection and the preservation of freedom.

Do we know what type or where the missles that are being used against our embassy and civilians today have come from?


..Rockets fired at US embassy in Afghan capital

By AMIR SHAH - Associated Press,RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press | AP – 5 hrs ago....tweet22Share0EmailPrint......More slideshows.
.Afghanistan
100 photos - 5 mins agoDeadly Argentina bus-train crash
9 photos - 1 hr 49 mins agoIran sets bail for 2 jailed Americans
12 photos - Sat, Aug 20, 2011...See latest photos »....KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Insurgents fired rockets and assault rifles in the direction of the U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other official buildings Tuesday as gunfire and explosions rocked the heart of the Afghan capital. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The surge of violence was a stark reminder of the instability that continues to plague Afghanistan nearly a decade after the U.S. invasion that ousted the Taliban in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.

Police said the gunmen were firing from a tall office building that is under construction at Kabul's Abdul Haq square, which is about 300 yards (meters) from the U.S. Embassy. American officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The American Embassy is on the edge of the Wazir Akbar Khan area, and gunfire and explosions rocked the area, which is home to a number of other foreign missions.

At least one rocket landed on a building housing privately owned Tolo TV and another near a minivan carrying school children. At least four Afghans were wounded, according to Associated Press reporters on the scene.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said a number of suicide bombers were attacking Afghan and foreign soldiers at the square. He claimed in a text message that suicide bombers using assault rifles were attacking the offices of the Afghan intelligence service.

http://news.yahoo.com/rockets-fired-us- ... 55416.html