See Answer Reporter Gets When He Asks State Dept Spox Point Blank if U.S. Sold Cuba Hellfire Missile

The Blaze ^ | Jan 8 2016 | Tré Goins-Phillips

[Whenifhow]

One day after the Wall Street Journal revealed that a dummy U.S. hellfire missile was mistakenly shipped from Europe to Cuba in 2014, the State Department refuses to deny whether or not it was sold to the Cuban government.

"I am restricted, under federal law and regulations, from commenting on the specific defense trade, licensing cases and compliance matters," State Department spokesman John Kirby said during a press conference Friday.

"What I can say is under the Arms Export Control Act, the State Department licenses both permanent and temporary exports by U.S. companies of regulated defense articles," Kirby added.

The State Department spokesman went on to say that it is U.S. companies that are responsible for documenting their shipping logistics and are responsible for reporting any shipping deviations to the federal government. Previous reports indicated that Lockheed has been attributed with the shipping error that lead to the improper shipment.

When pressed for more detail, Kirby said he's "not at liberty to comment further." But that did not stop reporters from pressing the official on the issue.

"You're not suggesting that you actually sold this to the Cubans?" one reporter asked Kirby. "I don't understand why you can't say, 'No, we didn't sell this to the Cubans, it got there by accident by mistake.'"

"You want to leave open the possibility that our government sold or gave a hellfire missile, intentionally, to the government of Cuba?" the reporter continued, seemingly agitated.

The missile, now allegedly in Cuban possession, did not contain explosives, according to the Journal, but there are concerns over the potential for the Cubans to share the defense technology with U.S. adversaries like North Korea or Russia.

U.S. officials have been urging the Cuban government to return the missile. In addition, the U.S. government is reportedly investigating whether or not the missile's disappearance was an intentional act of espionage.

The United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations in July 2015 after more than 50 years of hostility.

Watch the exchange below:

1:37 Minutes State Department Will Not Deny That U.S. Sold Hellfire Missile to Cuba

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXv3MfO6ffk

[Whenifhow]

1:37 Minutes

State Department Will Not Deny That U.S. Sold Hellfire Missile to Cuba

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXv3MfO6ffk

Previous threads:

Dummy Hellfire missile mistakenly shipped to Cuba

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3382092/posts

Missing U.S. Missile Shows Up in Cuba (...as the man said..'you can't make this stuff up)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3381118/posts

[Whenifhow]

1:37 Minutes
State Department Will Not Deny That U.S. Sold Hellfire Missile to Cuba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXv3MfO6ffk

Previous threads:
Dummy Hellfire missile mistakenly shipped to Cuba
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3382092/posts

Missing U.S. Missile Shows Up in Cuba (...as the man said..’you can’t make this stuff up)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3381118/posts

[knarf]

1:37 minutes

[Jonty30]

Sounds like treason to me.

[Secret Agent Man]

Yup.

[BenLurkin]

Kudos to these reporters for refusing to abet the Obamunists.

[sparklite2]

The decision on defense tech should come from the DOD, not the State Dept. What Bill Clinton did was transfer authority on restricted defense transactions from DOD to Commerce to get around the ban on def tech to China, repaying Chinese funding of his election. Hillary learned from him.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

Sounds like treason to me.

Well, of course, it's treason.

Don't hold your breath waiting for the Congressional Republicans to prosecute.

When they had the chance to prosecute the `Toon over Chinese espionage, A.K.A. Chinagate, they looked the other way and filed articles of impeachment over the `Toon lying in a sexual assault case.

They knew the sex assault case wouldn't kill the king. They merely wanted to wound him without exposing their own complicity in Chinagate.

[RedHeeler]

Are Hellfire missiles misleading?

[Jet Jaguar]

Ping.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

It’s ODTDI, the Obama Doctrine of Trickle Down Incompetence, dindoo nuffin don’ no nufffin, pound sand!

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

Hillary learned from him.

Pffft... Hillary was Billary's boss. He only did what she told him to do.

That's why she's still in politics and he's playing golf, and/or, whatever else happens to sashay by at the moment.

He was her ticket, not the other way around.

[LucyT]

*

**

Ping.

Thanks, Whenifhow.

[freefdny]

Cuban missile crisis 2016.

[Irish Eyes]

One more article in the backpack. It is getting heavy.

[Noumenon]

It’s long past time for the Ceaucescu Protocol.

[GOPJ]

"You're not suggesting that you actually sold this to the Cubans?" one reporter asked Kirby. "I don't understand why you can't say, 'No, we didn't sell this to the Cubans, it got there by accident by mistake.'"

Let me guess - Cuba "donated' a bazillion bucks to the Clinton Foundation... and the Hellfire Missile was the first of a shipment of 50...

[ETL]

__________________________________________

How Russia arms America's southern neighbors

Ioan Grillo
May 9, 2014

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Russia's push into Ukraine has put many on edge. But less known is that Russia is also strengthening its military links south of the Rio Grande and re-establishing itself as a power in the region.

Vladimir Putin has been strengthening military links here, and Russia is now the largest arms dealer to governments in Latin America, surpassing the United States.

Russia has even floated the possibility of building new military bases in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and putting its warships permanently in the Caribbean.

In the midst of the Ukraine crisis, Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov recently visited Cuba, Peru, Chile, and Nicaragua, where he announced that Russia would also pour money into the new Central American canal project. ..."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/140508/russian-arms-military-trade-latin-america
_______________________________________________________________________

Russia Boosts Arms, Training for Leftist Latin Militaries

Moscow defense minister inks deals with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua for joint exercises

BY: Bill Gertz
February 20, 2015

Russia agreed to provide military training for three leftist regimes in Latin America and increase military visits and exercises following a visit last week to the region by Moscow's Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, Pentagon officials said.

Shoygu met with defense and military leaders in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua and signed several agreements on warship visits and military training during the visit, which ran from Feb. 11 to 14. It is not clear whether any new arms deals were completed during the visit.

Defense officials said the Russian leader is seeking bases in the region for strategic bomber flights that Shoygu recently promised would include flights over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-boosts-arms-training-for-leftist-latin-militaries/

[bitt]

what the heck!

[butterdezillion]

In November of 2016 Obama is planning to be in South America yukking it up with his communist buddies, spiking the ball in our faces about the COMMUNIST portion of the communist-Islamist alliance that put him in power. The way Obama is arming our enemies I’m very seriously concerned that he’s going to have one of the rogue groups/countries that he’s armed fire off an EMP attack so he can be in our White House for the “8-10 years” that he said he would be, back in July of 2008. If the nuke takes advantage of the hole in our southern radar defense, my understanding is that the southern hemisphere would be safer. I can’t help but think Obama might have them do the dirty deed when he’s down there celebrating the communist terrorist group FARC, Castro, Chavez, etc.

A little bit like a trophy to give Frances Fox Piven and all the other Columbia University buddies such as Bill Ayers who planned to destroy America and hand it over to world communists like Castro. Obama’s career started with the communist Ayers family and the Islamist Prince Alwaleed joining to get Obama his Harvard law degree, which he then used only to carry out Piven’s legal planks from her plan to destroy the country through manufactured crisis. He joined the party that she co-founded, with the goal of turning the democrat party communist without anybody noticing, and he carried out the planks that Alwaleed and Ayers intended him to carry out. For him to be with Castro when the Islamists and/or communists blow up the USA would probably make the guy cry with joy, over bringing the Columbia crowd’s dream to fruition.

Obama is not normalizing relations with Cuba, he’s going into a secret alliance with them - not because Cuba ever accepted America’s standards but because Obama has brought us down to Castro’s standards.

Somebody stop this slow-mo train wreck.