ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the evolution of the Libyan leader’s nuclear aims. The Libyan government claims it is not interested in nuclear weapons and points to its signature on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as evidence of good faith. Signature of the NPT, however, is a cover behind which Qadhafi hides his desperate nuclear ambitions. Nuclear co-operation between Libya and Egypt, although now suspended, casts a fascinating perspective on the history of the nuclear arms race in the Middle East. A Libyan-backed plot to kill Sadat was the final nail in the coffin of the short-lived Federation Government. The Libyans also left their nuclear calling cards with France, with whom an agreement was signed in 1976. A group of Indian scientists visited Libya in 1979 and they reported that Libya had to do much more to improve the quality of its scientific manpower.
