Posted on 09/12/2006 2:49:39 PM PDT by John Carey
A ship bound for Syria from North Korea and detained in Cyprus on an Interpol alert for suspected arms smuggling was carrying an air defense system, Cypriot authorities said. The shipment was billed as weather-observation equipment on the freight manifest of the Panamanian-flagged Grigorio 1. The ship was carrying 18 truck-mounted mobile radar systems and three command vehicles. "The radars on the 18 trucks appear to be part of an air defense system," a police spokeswoman said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Sink the ship...with the crew.
WorldTribune.com reported:
NICOSIA — The Republic of Cyprus has stopped a ship full of North Korean weapons systems bound for Syria.
Officials said Greek Cypriot authorities responded to an alert by Interpol to capture a ship bound for Syria from North Korea. They said security agents found a mobile air defense system and components of a missile launcher.
"We will implement the law, nothing more and nothing less," Cypriot Justice Minister Sophocles Sophocleous said on Monday. "And the political position will be expressed by the foreign minister."
At this point, the Foreign Ministry has been examining the issue and maintaining contact with Damascus. This is the first time that the Republic of Cyprus was believed to have seized a suspected weapons ship to Syria.
The ship, named the Panamanian-flagged Grigorio-1, reported a consignment of weather-observation equipment, officials said. But Interpol asserted that the freighter contained North Korean weapons systems and asked Nicosia to detain the ship for inspection.
Officials did not identify the North Korean air defense system. But they reported 18 truck-mounted mobile radar systems and three command vehicles.
The ship did not contain any missiles, officials said. They said the vessel carried irrigation pipes as well as components that could be part of a missile launcher.
Officials said Damascus had asked Nicosia to release the seized shipment. They said the ship's manifest does not identify Syria as the consignee.
NATO, which administers a program to halt suspected weapons of mass destruction shipments, has denied participation in the Cypriot operation. NATO has sought partners in Operation Active Endeavor, designed to monitor the Mediterranean for Al Qaida as well as WMD suppliers.
On Monday, NATO hosted the seven-member Mediterranean Dialogue in London in an effort to increase military and security relations. NATO officials, in a conference co-sponsored by the Royal United Services Institute, urged Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia to cooperate with each other and the Western alliance in combating Al Qaida-aligned groups and their sponsors.
The Grigorio-1 was tracked by Interpol for several months, officials said. They said the ship was seized on Sept. 5 when it sailed near Larnaca for refueling.
Officials said Grigorio-1 left North Korea for the Middle East and stopped at several ports. They said the last leg of the journey began from Egypt's Port Said toward the Syrian port of Latakia.
Probably a Chinese made air defense system too.
They oughtta blow it up! Blow it up real good.
Aren't there a number of vintage World War 2 mines on that path which have never been recovered?
Betcha a buck they release the ship AND its contents to Syria
If those "air defense systems" work as well as Comrade Chia Pet's unguided missile tests last July, Hell - send 'em on through to President Asshat with our compliments.
Better yet, install a software 'backdoor' that allows our jammer aircraft to "Switch Off" at the critical moment. Viruses go to war.
I like the way you think! ;)
Now we know why Syria prevented the terrorist bombing of the US Embassy in Damascus - they want their missle defense system.
The final destination of that Chinese junk is probably Iran - to defend against a strike on their nuclear facilities.
We should study the stuff extensively first before releasing it, then share the info with the Zionists..
"We should study the stuff extensively first before releasing it, then share the info with the Zionists.."
heck the chinese probably got some of the tech from israel.
I couldn't agree with you more. If the US wanted to truly strike an effective blow to bring peace to the middle east, then we should take out every target of military significance in Syria, right down to the last broke-down Soviet-era truck.
We have the technology.
I sincerely believe that if we targeted his military infrastructure, and not in any way his people, the US public would support our efforts. As long as people are made aware of Syria's support for terrorism, the public will accept that Assad cannot support terrorists and escape the consequences of that support. Taking him out saves lives. It's that clear.
Ya see! I knew if we batted this around long enough, we'd come up with a plan! Good one!
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