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French, Germany, Russia and China supplied illegal weapons to Iraq
Article here:
link:
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/28139.htm
Quote:
AXIS OF BACKSTAB
By NILES LATHEM
September 8, 2004 --
WASHINGTON — France, Russia and China supplied Saddam Hussein with missiles, arms, defense technology and spare parts before — and after — the start of the Iraq war, an explosive new book claims.
In the book, Washington Times reporter Bill Gertz cites a slew of illegal covert arms deals between Saddam and several countries that opposed the U.S. invasion in the months before and after the start of war in March 2003.
The book, "Treachery: How America's Friends and Foes Are Secretly Arming Our Enemies," cites secret Pentagon and CIA reports and interviews with top U.S. defense and intelligence officials.
Gertz claims that many of the weapons sold to Iraq in this critical time frame — and in violation of U.N. embargoes — were used by Ba'athist terrorists against U.S. forces after the fall of Saddam.
The book claims that U.S. Navy SEALs discovered that half the rockets fired by pro-Saddam guerrillas in the Oct. 26, 2003, attack on Baghdad's Al-Rashid Hotel — where Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was staying — were French-made Matra SNEB 68 mm rockets.
The missiles were in "pristine condition," according to the book.
France, Russia and China have consistently denied that they violated the U.N. arms embargoes imposed on Iraq after the 1991 war to free Kuwait.
But the book claims that weaponry from supposed U.S. allies in the war on terror made its way to Iraq during that critical period. The arms included Russian-made anti-tank weapons that were used by Saddam's Fedayeen militia to disable two M1A1 tanks in Najaf during the initial invasion, according to Gertz.
The author also claims:
* U.S. forces discovered that a missile that shot down a U.S. A-10 Warthog fighter-bomber during the latest war was a French-made Roland that was shipped to Iraq after sanctions went into effect following Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
* Shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles used by Ba'athist insurgents to shoot down U.S. helicopters after the war were "hybrid weapons built from components" that Germany — another vocal opponent of the war that ousted Saddam — "illegally supplied to Iraq."
* China, Iraq's top military supplier after Russia, provided Baghdad with technical assistance on its fiber-optic air-defense radar system during the run-up to the war. During that period, U.S and British aircraft patrolling Iraq's no-fly zones came under constant attack from Iraqi missiles.
* Russia supplied Iraq with new jammers that would interfere with global-positioning-system devices on U.S. smart bombs.
The book, quoting John Shaw, a deputy undersecretary for defense, also charges that France had a secret arrangement with Saddam three years before the war to help the Butcher of Baghdad flee to Mauritania aboard an Airbus 300 jetliner.
In addition, the book cites government documents indicating that nuclear programs in rogue states like Iran, North Korea and Libya have also received help from French, Russian, Chinese and German companies.
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Is there anyone out there who really didnt see this coming? Is there really any good argument as to why we continually need to be worried about what these countries think about the decision to invade Iraq? The rhetoric about "losing" the support of "rest of the world" is the other nations politically motivated attempts to sway our politicians into serving their own interests. Or even to sway the people in this country to vote for politicians more likely to bow to those interests. IF the allegations in this article prove to be true (Im not making that assumption yet) where does the "We have pissed the world off because we are greedy evil tyrants etc" argument go? Does it still have a leg to stand on?
It seems to me either people use the argument as a red herring to drum up support for the anti-war movement, or they have genuinely bought the bullshit from these other countries who hope the US takes the course of action which makes them the most money (ie get out of iraq so we can sell them more weapons illegally).
Again Im going to mention that as far as I know this hasnt been fully investigated etc so I wouldnt bet my life that all these allegations are true. If I were a betting man though (which I am) I would definately bet the greater portion of my life savings that they are.
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Last edited by sprocket; 09-09-2004 at 09:26 PM..
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