Informant warned of infiltration before hotel blast

Iraq strengthens air force with French parts By Bill Gertz A French company has been selling spare parts to Iraq for its fighter jets and military helicopters during the past several months, according to U.S. intelligence officials. The unidentified company sold the parts to a trading company in the United Arab Emirates, which then shipped the parts through a third country into Iraq by truck. The spare parts included goods for Iraq's French-made Mirage F-1 jets and Gazelle attack helicopters. An intelligence official said the illegal spare-parts pipeline was discovered in the past two weeks and that sensitive intelligence about the transfers indicates that the parts were smuggled to Iraq as recently as January.' Other intelligence reports indicate that Iraq had succeeded in acquiring French weaponry illegally for years, the official said. The parts appear to be included in an effort by the Iraqi military to build up materiel for its air forces before any U.S. military action, which could occur before the end of the month. The officials identified the purchaser of the parts as the Al Tamoor Trading Co., based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A spokesman for the company could not be reached for comment. The French military parts were then sent by truck into Iraq from a neighboring country the officials declined to identify. Iraq has more than 50 Mirage F-1 jets and an unknown number of Gazelle attack helicopters, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. An administration official said the French parts transfers to Iraq may be one reason France has so vehemently opposed U.S. plans for military action against Iraq. "No wonder the French are opposing us," this official said. The official, however, said intelligence reports of the parts sale did not indicate that the activity was sanctioned by the French government or that Paris knows about the transfers. The intelligence reports did not identify the French company involved in selling the aircraft parts or whether the parts were new or used. The Mirage F-1 was made by France's Dassault Aviation. Gazelle helicopters were made by Aerospatiale, which later became part of a consortium of European defense companies. The importation of military goods by Iraq is banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions passed since the 1991 Persian Gulf war. Nathalie Loiseau, press counselor at the French Embassy, said her government has no information about the spare-parts smuggling and has not been approached by the U.S. government about the matter. "We fully comply with the U.N. sanctions, and there is no sale of any kind of military material or weapons to Iraq," she said. A CIA spokesman had no comment. A senior administration official declined to discuss Iraq's purchase of French warplane and helicopter parts. "It is well known that the Iraqis use front companies to try to obtain a number of prohibited items," the official said. The disclosure comes amid heightened anti-French sentiment in the United States over Paris' opposition to U.S. plans for using force to disarm Iraq. A senior defense official said France undermined U.S. efforts to disarm Iraq last year by watering down language of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 that last fall required Iraq to disarm all its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs. France, along with Russia, Germany and China, said yesterday that they would block a joint U.S.-British U.N. resolution on the use of force against Iraq. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told reporters in Paris on Wednesday that France "will not allow a resolution to pass that authorizes resorting to force." "Russia and France, as permanent members of the Security Council, will assume their full responsibilities on this point," he stated. France has been Iraq's best friend in the West. French arms sales to Baghdad were boosted in the 1970s under Premier Jacques Chirac, the current president. Mr. Chirac once called Saddam Hussein a "personal friend." During the 1980s, when Paris backed Iraq in its war against Iran, France sold Mirage fighter bombers and Super Entendard aircraft to Baghdad, along with Exocet anti-ship missiles. French-Iraqi ties soured after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait that led to the 1991 Persian Gulf war. France now has an estimated $4 billion in debts owed to it by Iraq as a result of arms sales and infrastructure construction projects. The debt is another reason U.S. officials believe France is opposing military force to oust Saddam. Henry Sokolski, director of the private Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, said French transfers of military equipment to Iraq would have "an immediate and relevant military consequence, if this was done." "The United States with its allies are going to suppress the Iraqi air force and air defense very early on in any conflict, and it's regrettable that the French have let a company complicate that mission," Mr. Sokolski said. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell last month released intelligence information showing videotape of an Iraqi F-1 Mirage that had been modified to spray anthrax spores. A CIA report to Congress made public in January stated that Iraq has aggressively sought advanced conventional arms. "A thriving gray-arms market and porous borders have allowed Baghdad to acquire smaller arms and components for larger arms, such as spare parts for aircraft, air defense systems, and armored vehicles," the CIA stated. Iraq also has obtained some military goods through the U.N.-sponsored oil-for-food program. A second CIA report in October on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction stated: "Iraq imports goods using planes, trains, trucks, and ships without any type of international inspections — in violation of UN Security Council resolutions."

I imagine US "authorities" get hundreds of warnings a day and it is extremely difficult to check them all out with the same amount of scrutiny. To say, after the fact, that the US had warning and so it is their fault is just plain wrong. It makes me appreciate the results of the Patriot Act over the past two years and the security in the US.

Wolfowitz was the target....

Headline: Saddam ally an insider of Iraq hotel hit by rockets -- Detail Story

BAGHDAD: A contractor supplying kitchen staff and secretaries for the Al Rasheed Hotel, the scene of Sunday’s rocket attacks, was allied to Saddam Hussein's security services and might have been providing intelligence to the anti-U.S. resistance, citing an Iraqi informant a US daily reported on Tuesday.

The hotel is one of the most sensitive sites in Baghdad, serving as office and residence to top coalition officials as well as many members of the Iraqi Governing Council.

The informant, who identifies himself fully in his letter but declined to have his name published, focuses his charges on Muslel Muhammed Farhan Al-Dilemi, 53, the manager of the Al-Tamoor Trading Co. which provides services to the hotel.

His people are the ones who get the hotel kitchen food. Wolfowitz is reported to have been sleeping in a room on the 13th floor when the rockets struck early yesterday. The report claims that members of the hotel management are in league with Mr. Al-Dilemi.

fyi..

I've posted pictures of French "equipment" only to be told it wasn't "the real thing". Interesting how so many countries have little concern for the general well being of Iraq's people yet are eager to take over the country through whatever financial requirements necessary. And regardless of their own difficulties.

Do a search on Al-Tamoor Trading Co. ....... it was a company used by the Iraqi regime to smuggle in illegal arms shipments.

We used a company that was in bed with Saddam..

This blunder could have cost this country a Deputy Defense Sec...

I imagine US "authorities" get hundreds of warnings a day and it is extremely difficult to check them all out with the same amount of scrutiny.

I think that I heard that same excuse or something similar regarding info and documents referencing pre 9/11.

The document, now in the hands of the intelligence cell of the US 101st airborne division, was "overlooked", but is now to be investigated.

How many 'times' was this 'overlooked',...and exactly,....who did the 'overlooking'...?

And,...the answer is: ______________?

(Intelligence?)

"US authorities failed to act on a warning from an Iraqi police informant in August that the staff of Baghdad's al-Rashid hotel had been infiltrated by Ba'ath party spies seeking targeting information on the governing coalition's top brass."

Maybe it is the end of the American "empire". I mean how can you miss this? Can these guys get anything right?

Excuse? Do you believe they disregarded good information? Why? For the oil?

Just like they had all the intel on the guys learning how to fly and their connections to terror groups. I mean what is it going to take to wake these guys up. Maybe when New York is leveled?

Just like they had all the intel on the guys learning how to fly and their connections to terror groups. I mean what is it going to take to wake these guys up. Maybe when New York is leveled?

(Your# 13)

Yep!

"They".....are afraid of 'them' (the INS) pit!

Clintoon's DNC's......"INS",........no?

(etc.,......PC fear!)Z

On the blog written by an I raqi dentist, Healing Iraq.com, he says that all the employees of the Al Rashid were Iraqi Intelligence prior to the war and that there were no secrets there. If any of these employees were retained after the recent war, it was only a matter of time.
This trader is probably an undercover intelligence agent of Saddam's.

I have a silly question here. Does anybody know how to locate this place on a map? Reason I am asking is that I know my son-in-law is quartered near enough to this blast to have seen it. And I'd like to pin him down on the map for my own personal reference.

I think that I heard that same excuse or something similar regarding info and documents referencing pre 9/11.

It's generally not an excuse. People have outstanding 20/20 vision in hindsight, and then they launch out at the intel folks for not doing anything. And while this situation actually seems to have details, often these "warnings" are extremely vague and only apparent after the fact.

Maybe it is the end of the American "empire". I mean how can you miss this? Can these guys get anything right?

Just like they had all the intel on the guys learning how to fly and their connections to terror groups. I mean what is it going to take to wake these guys up. Maybe when New York is leveled?

I'm glad you have everything under control. The rest of us are unfortunately human.

And with our obstructionist Senate it could take three years to get a replacement confirmed.

I'm glad you have everything under control. The rest of us are unfortunately human.

While certainly you can't catch everything, this stands out:

Muslel Muhammed Farhan al-Dilemi, 53, the manager of the al-Tamoor Trading Company, which provides staff and services to the hotel.

You just have to google for that name to release you shouldn't have anything to do with them.