Black Market Iraqi Weapon sales discovered
By John Amato Sunday Aug 12, 2007 11:01amWho do you think is getting these weapons and why doesn't the US know about them? Maybe they do.
PERUGIA, Italy - In a hidden corner of Rome's busy Fiumicino Airport, police dug quietly through a traveler's checked baggage, looking for smuggled drugs. What they found instead was a catalog of weapons, a clue to something bigger. Their discovery led anti-Mafia investigators down a monthslong trail of telephone and e-mail intercepts, into the midst of a huge black-market transaction, as Iraqi and Italian partners haggled over shipping more than 100,000 Russian-made automatic weapons into the bloodbath of Iraq.
A Pentagon report in June may have touched on another possible destination for weapons obtained via secretive channels, noting that "militia infiltration of local police remains a significant problem." Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq's civil war have long been known to find cover and weapons within the Interior Ministry...read on
Seems to me that certain "militia" groups are looking for some additional firepower. More blood will be spilled. But----how about that surge?
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Faust
This kinda puts the hurts on the story that Iran is responsible for all the arms coming into the country, huh?
Remember, it would be a DISASTER if we left! Good thing we're sticking around!
Chaos Accomplished!
This is just payback for Afghanistan.
Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo-stick!
This gets worse by the minute.
Add another mysterious link to the chain.
Karl Rove announcing his departure strikes me as a "getting out of Dodge" scenario. There are so many interlinked happenings that are going on at the present that are hardly, if at all, being reported.
Look up "Leo Wanta" and you'll get a better handle on the current situation.
Big whoop. Like this is news. Iraq is a gun runners wet dream. Since Jerry Bremer eliminated trade tariffs on Iraqi imports, the economy has gone to shit anyway. So when some neocon tells you about all the refrigerators for sale in Iraq, try not to laugh too hard.
we couldn't stop the global arms trade if we wanted to, and why would we? We're a major player
History repeating itself.
Look into our former Secretary of "Defense" Rumpfelt or maybe even our current one.
Wasn't Gates "exonerated" on all counts of the Iran-Contra arms "deal"
This country's government has become a cesspool of highway robbers and criminals!
So...are we going to invade Italy next? No more spaghetti? Boycott Olive Gardens? LOL!!! Let's see the WH spin on this one...
Crikey,
Elspeth
Ok, that's 10k of the 190k weapons that went "missing" in Iraq. I'm sure the other 180k will be trafficked as well...thanks to our tax dollars!! :)
Elspeth R @ 11:
lol, "freedom noodles," not spaghetti anymore.
Damn it. Back before we invaded Afghanistan, I was making the argument that we were opening ourselves up for revenge for what Reagan did to the Russians in Afghanistan.
People laughed me off, pointing out that Bush looked into Putin's heart and saw a loveable puppy dog.
I suppose I'm still wrong, because I was right for the wrong reasons.
No more! I want no more obvious predictions to come true!
Weaseldog @ 4:
http://lavender.fortunecity.com/fullmonty/22/siegfried.jpg
Perfect for the war mongers...just more excuses for more endless wars.
Elspeth R @ 11:
Oh no, not a boycott on spaghetti!
How 'bout if we just call 'em freedom noodles?
Our Iraq "strategy" is sounding more and more like a script for a new Austin Powers flick.
By the way, it's good to see that you all have been very busy while I've been out. Taking down KKKarl was particularly impressive!
John Amato said:
Undoubtedly the incidence of violence has been significantly reduced wherever the additional "surge" troops have been deployed, most notably in Ramadi, which was not long ago declared a "lost cause" before tribal leaders started cooperating with coalition forces instead of al Qaeda operatives.
The problem is (and at the core always has been) that the administration attempted to liberate Iraq "on the cheap" without enough boots on the ground to maintain civil order after Saddam and his Republican Guard forces were defeated. Labeling the troop surge as an "escalation" also doesn't make any sense when there were never enough troops available to do the job to begin with.
BBC showed two days ago a special report about top notch US wepons being sold to Hamas in Lebanon and the Palestinian areas.
Kald @ 20:
There are 190,000 US manufactured rifles and pistols missing in Iraq. Perhaps as much as half of everything we've shipped over there. Do you suppose that any of them will (or already have) turn(ed) up on the black market?
How many will ultimately be used against American forces?
Do you suppose our neocon media machine would ever report it if/when they do turn up?
Yellow Elephant Safari @ 21:
Oh dear. Iraq is already awash with weapons. If they are trying to bring in additional massive quantities like this then they are preparing for an "endgame".
I think whats coming is going to make the past couple of years look like peace and stability.
pissed off patricia @ 2:
According to the story I read yesterday, the Italian businessmen wanted to buy the guns from China, but someone on the Iraqi side said they had to be Russian-made. Don't the Iranians use Russian AK-47s?
If we're going to blame Iran for arming our enemies, I guess the least we can do is to make sure those weapons have the proper labels.
It's the "Salvador Option". This is kind of "old news" if you've been watching carefully. But basically, the Salvador Option is to arm death squads and militias as a counterinsurgency method...
To do this, you need illegal arms flowing through the country. And then, you can use revenues from the illegal arms sales to finance other activities that congress would never approve funds for.
Interesting they have so many black Iraqi weapons, and we have so many black American soldiers there.
Check out Yahoo News...Shiites in South of Iraq are now fighting other Shiites for
control....and haven't we been told by the "wonderful" MSM that the battel for
control within that country is between Shiites and Sunnias...BS...The situation
is getting worse and worse w/no end in sight as to internal conflict, so WTF
are we still doing there?
Doggiebobo @ 22:
The MSM reported that no one anywhere, recorded the serial numbers of the missing weapons.
Weaseldog @ 28:
If true..."Isn't that special?"
Doggiebobo @ 29:
Yeah, it's BS with extra polish.
I don't think anyone believes this.
What - they already ran through the 200,000 weapons the Penatgon so generously gave them? Well, if they ask General Petraeus real nice, he'll probably give them some more. No need to go haggling with shady Italians.
perpetual war does require a constant stream of small arms.
Arm Sales, No Big Deal
Another day and another sign of the utter incompetence from this administration, but we have to suffer with it because we just can't impeach these losers. Don't ask me why but it seems to be against the laws of the universe or something.
Like standing up and saying "I am Spartacus", GOPers and Dems have agreed to hold hands and not impeach the White House traitors which in turns makes them traitors. Aside from the law breaking, take your pick from FISA to no-bid-doles to defense contractors regardless of any work being done or goods delivered or billions of dollars that have disappeared in Iraq, the complete and total incompetence of BushCo makes Bush, Cheney, and Gonzo prime candidates for impeachment.
If you know, and believe me everyone in and out of Congress knows, that Bush and company are totally incapable of running this government, a justice department, a war, the economy, etc. then everyday we are all at greater risk from everything. If for no other reason than you agree that they are all completely incompetent in their respective jobs, and these jobs are to protect our country, to prevent crimes against Americans, to ensure that our Constitution is being faithfully followed which they all swore an oath to do, then the entire cast of clowns needs to be impeached. Doesn't anyone in Congress love this country enough to protect it from being run into the ground by a bunch of idealogical self-absorbed idiots?
It's Weapon Sales today, and surely something else tomorrow, and something even worse the day after that. The disgraces are never ending, unless Congress says enough and begins to impeach. Believe me, you impeach one and they will all flee the ship of state.
We should worry a lot more about black-market sales like this than any shipments from Iran. A lot of the weapons that come from Iran are based on World War II technology. Some version of the shaped charges in the IEDs we keep hearing about have been used in anti-tank mines for over 60 years. Most of Iran's missiles are just upgrades of WW II era Soviet rockets, some are upgrades of rockets used in the siege of Berlin.
If Iran was so technologically sophisticated don't you think they could have learned to reverse engineer their own replacement parts for the F14 Tomcats we sold them in the 1970s?
The weapons available to Iraq on the black-market come from countries that are technologically sophisticated like Russia, China, Western Europe and the United States of America.
By the way, the day the MSM reports that our "missing weapons" are showing up in other parts of the Middle East, like Lebanon and Palestine, is the same day they accurately report that the majority of foreign fighters in Iraq actually come from Saudi Arabia and not Iran. You remember Saudi Arabia that's where 90% of the 9/11 hijackers came from, and none from Iraq.
That'll be the Day...
While we're at it...why don't we sell weapons to the Saudis...you know, the real folks responsible for 9/11...?
mudkitty @ 36:
done and done.
being the global supplier of all types of weapons to rogue regimes, and dictatorships is a thankless job... but it sure pays well.
it is an effective way to make a lot of loot AND keep american-puppet govts in control all the while quashing democratic reforms.
ScrewBush said-- "You remember Saudi Arabia that’s where 90% of the 9/11 hijackers came from, and none from Iraq. "
-Sorry Pal!Like the missing weapons,like wise Missing Arabs.FYI- none were Arabs. --Here are some of the 19 hunchos that pulled it off--Jr.Bush, Marvin Bush, Silverstein, Guilania, Chenny, Wolfowitz, Sharon,Powell,Clintons and your buddies at AIPAC. By the way--7 of your Arabs you like to blame are--ALIVE ALIVE ALIVE ! Sad part is that FBI, CIA can't be bothered to arrest them or put Bin Laden on the most wanted list--- ! :(
jojo @ 38:
ALL of the Arabs who were on the two planes died, so help me out if you can and identify
who the remaining seven(7) Abrabs blamed for the 911 attack are and where are they
located, if know? Just asking..
Carmikl @ 34:
Any machine shop can make these weapons.
Iraqis can do it with human powered tools. What they need is fertilizer and copper.
They can get the copper by cutting down electrical lines after we put them up.
The ancient Greeks could've made these weapons, if they had the instructions.
Can I buy one!!! I have $10 left after I payed for my sons college books.
The military son leaves for Iraq in 8 days.
One poor Liberal without a gun.
Well, this bit didn't come from the Cheney vine otherwise it would have been arm sales between Russia and Iran. Then he would be pushing all the more to go into Iran. Seriously, do we even have a government (for the people, by the people) anymore? I pity the poor winner for the next presidency; if we can keep the facade of a functioning government alive that long.
Why does the Bush administration hate our troops?
Wait just a minute. This can't be true. All of the weapons flooding into Iraq are coming from Al Qeada...errr...Hamas...errr...Iran.
Slaw @ 44:
Yeah, and ALL the insurgants are Al Qeada, uh Taliban, uh Hamas, uh Shiites, uh Sunni,
uh from Iran, uh from Syria, uh, uh, uh.....
Slaw @ 44:
that tears it: war on err!!!!!!
Doggiebobo @ 45:
yeesh... *pant, pant, pant*
war on uh!!!!!
:-)
And the international arms dealers of the world go... "Ahhhh another mission accomplished..... Love it"!!!
And they further runinate on their good fortunes....
"Gee Arming both sides CAN be fun and profitable... And to think, the American armaments industry showed us all the way"....
Meanwhile... the rest of us, just have to put up with this shit!!!!
Oh Dwight D. Eisenhower... IF we had but listened to you when we had the chance.......JD
rove must be resigning because he needs to pay more attention to his
illegal arms deals in iraq, that is, the loss of a big deal thru italy. He will
be tied to some illicit arms deals in just a few months, but let's not try him
until bush is out of office, so we don't have anymore homeboy get-out-of-jail-free-cards.
"Black Market Iraqi Weapon sales discovered"
Please. The whole war is a fraud.
...
[...] …And: Black Market Iraqi Weapon sales discovered from Crooks and Liars [...]
Wow, who would have thought that there'd a Black Market for weaponry in Iraq ? ! ?
This shocks me right down to my last roadside explosive device.
Let me guess, the new Constitution of Iraq has a strong Second Amendment, right?
The US manages to "lose" 190,000 rifles and pistols and Bush&Co accuse the IRANIANS!!! of "selling" weapons to the insurgents... Go figure....
Wasn't there something like 9 billion dollars lost in Iraq?
booshco acts like they just lost the Dr. Pepper change.
Well, their pro-free enterprise, right?
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