If Qaddafi hangs on, are new WMDs next?

Qaddafi is well aware of the global turmoil he can cause by abrogating the 2003 WMD agreement he reached with the West. Indeed, he has already threatened to pull out of all international agreements. Doing so would send already high oil prices soaring. “We know this game,” Qaddafi’s elites are fond of saying, citing Europe’s dependence on oil they control. The current nuclear crisis in Japan merely strengthens their hand.

Of course, the leaders of countries like North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela are on the lookout for opportunities to overturn the current global system; sideline the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations; vitiate the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty; and eliminate any threats to their own authority. Helping Qaddafi recreate a major nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons program on Europe’s doorstep would clearly help them further these ambitions.