billvon 2,476 #26 March 24, 2003 >He has plenty of his own shit I am sure we don't need to put it there >for him. We sold him the stuff. Sure, he might have gotten that stuff somewhere else, but he also might have gotten jamming equipment and fiber optics from somewhere else. From the Sunday Herald: ------------------------ THE US and Britain sold Saddam Hussein the technology and materials Iraq needed to develop nuclear, chemical and biological wea pons of mass destruction. Reports by the US Senate's committee on banking, housing and urban affairs -- which oversees American exports policy -- reveal that the US, under the successive administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Snr, sold materials including anthrax, VX nerve gas, West Nile fever germs and botulism to Iraq right up until March 1992, as well as germs similar to tuberculosis and pneumonia. Other bacteria sold included brucella melitensis, which damages major organs, and clostridium perfringens, which causes gas gangrene. ------------------------ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,476 #27 March 24, 2003 >Is the point you are trying to make that Iraq has weapons of mass > destruction and lied about it, or that we are the big bad boogie man > for selling anything to them? The point is that Russia is no more the "big bad boogie man" than we are for selling weapons to Iraq. It doesn't make much sense to condemn other countries for doing what we ourselves do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhino 0 #28 March 24, 2003 QuoteThe point is that Russia is no more the "big bad boogie man" than we are for selling weapons to Iraq. It doesn't make much sense to condemn other countries for doing what we ourselves do. The administration is simply asking Russia not to do it anymore. Problem is they did it while under UN resolutions saying it was illegal. They were selling the IRaqi's night vision gear and jamming equipment. Not that the Russians could ever jam anything but the fact remains. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,476 #29 March 24, 2003 >The administration is simply asking Russia not to do it anymore. Oh, OK. No problem then. I agree that asking them to cut it out is entirely appropriate - at least until the next government is in power. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,155 #30 March 24, 2003 QuoteProblem is they did it while under UN resolutions saying it was illegal. They were selling the IRaqi's night vision gear and jamming equipment. Not that the Russians could ever jam anything but the fact remains. very true, but don't you at least consider it a little hypocritical to first sell a country something, then tell them to get rid of it and then invade that same country for not getting rid of what you sold them in the first place? If all the reported items are correct, it is at least odd to say the least. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #31 March 24, 2003 QuoteThe administration is simply asking Russia not to do it anymore. Problem is they did it while under UN resolutions saying it was illegal. Well, so did the Americans. The US was sending biological sampes up to 92, and the UN sactions went in place in 91. If it's the case that Russia has been sending stuff recently, then I'd agree. I'd like to see evidence of that first, though. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #32 March 24, 2003 Why TF was the US sending these biological pathogens to Iraq?? I mean, what was the motivation for doing so back then? We had cancelled our own biological weapons program back during the Nixon administration, so why did we give this shit to Iraq, (even if we didn't know what a bastard Saddam was going to be)? Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,476 #33 March 24, 2003 >Why TF was the US sending these biological pathogens to Iraq?? Well, don't forget that 20 years or so ago we were all for Iraq's use of military force against Iran. We didn't even object to their use of chemical weapons; we were actually helping them with military intelligence as they were using chemical weapons against Iran. In that light, perhaps it didn't seem so bad to send anthrax cultures to Iraq. Heck, perhaps the company that sent it thought they were simply sending medical research materials to a pseudo-ally. Needless to say, I hope we think twice about doing such things in the future. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #34 March 24, 2003 Quote Heck, perhaps the company that sent it thought they were simply sending medical research materials to a pseudo-ally. I guess this is the most likely explanation., If we wanted to help Iraq fight Iran, we could have done that by selling them just conventional weaponry. It wouldn't make sense for us to encourage them to use biological weapons, when we won't even use them ourselves (after 1971, anyway). Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #35 March 24, 2003 Quote>It appears that the Russians have been supplying Iraq with jamming > equipment of sorts in very recent times. . . . They have something >to hide. So do we. Bill, please elaborate. What do we have to hide? - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,476 #36 March 24, 2003 >If we wanted to help Iraq fight Iran, we could have done that by > selling them just conventional weaponry. We didn't do that, quite (which was wise, I think.) We did sell them a lot of military helicopter chassis (without the military add-ons) and gave them a lot of intelligence help. Remember, back when we gave all those weapons to the Mujahideen, it really came back to bite us in the ass - so I'm glad we didn't give too many weapons to Iraq. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,476 #37 March 24, 2003 >Bill, please elaborate. What do we have to hide? US companies sold chemical weapon precursors, anthrax and botulinim cultures, and nuclear weapons triggers to Iraq. I don't think that's neccessarily something to hide, it's just a few mistakes we made in the past. However, it would be a little hypocritical of us to condemn Russia for selling similar things to them (although it's perfectly OK for us to ask them to stop.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonto 1 #38 March 25, 2003 http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/24/sprj.irq.apache.attack/index.htmlIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallRate 0 #39 March 25, 2003 QuoteWhy TF was the US sending these biological pathogens to Iraq?? As far as Anthrax goes, I remember watching a report on the company that sold Anthrax cultures (in a non-weaponized form) to Iraq for the development of vaccines and medications. As for other Chemical and Biological supplies...I haven't a clue. FallRate Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
