Allegations of LTTE Chemical Weapons Capability

S E C R E T STATE 134206


E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2016
TAGS: PTER MCAP PARM CW KNNP CE
SUBJECT: Allegations of LTTE Chemical Weapons Capability

REF: COLOMBO 1241

Classified By: ISN/CB Office Director Robert Mikulak,
reasons: 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (U) Background.


A. (S) Ref reported on a document the Sri Lankan Foreign
Minister passed to the U.S. Charge reporting that the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had made an attempt
(in 2002) to procure "Red Mercury," a chemical claimed to
be used to manufacture weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The document also identifies a U.S. chemical company in
California as the possible manufacturer of this chemical.
The Foreign Minister said his government is extremely
concerned by the report and asked that the United States
provide "technical assistance" in dealing with the report.


B. (U) Red Mercury is a well-known scam material,
frequently purported to be important in the manufacture of
nuclear weapons but having no applications in the
manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, conventional
explosives, or any weapons system despite the claims about
its alleged properties. It has been utilized by con-
artists throughout the world in scams targeting terrorist
organizations and rogue states desiring WMD capabilities.
Although numerous reports from U.S. and Russian experts
have stated that the existence of Red Mercury is a hoax,
contradictory comments from other Russian scientists and
various inflammatory television shows and books have helped
perpetuate the myth, and Red Mercury continues to be sought
by ignorant entities seeking to acquire WMD.


2. (S-Rel Sri Lanka) In response to request in paragraph 3
of Ref, Embassy Colombo may advise Sri Lanka that
Washington has no credible information that "Red Mercury"
is a WMD threat and is unable to identify or locate the
U.S. chemical company specified in the Sri Lankan report.
Given these factors, we deem the sources cited in the
document not to be credible and believe that there is
nothing to be concerned about in regard to this report.


3. (S-Rel Sri Lanka) However, it should be noted that
there have been illicit trafficking cases where
documentation citing Red Mercury has accompanied authentic
nuclear material. So although the Sri Lankan report has
been assessed to be a scam, all reports of nuclear
smuggling should be thoroughly investigated in order to
rule out the existence of any material that could be a
threat. Embassy should ask Sri Lanka to continue to share
similar reports in the future.


RICE