Posted on 02/15/2007 10:10:26 AM PST by rogernz
We are not responsible for rifles, says Austria
Austria yesterday washed its hands of any responsibility after it was revealed that powerful sniper rifles it sold to Iran had been acquired by insurgents in Iraq.
The Daily Telegraph revealed yesterday that American troops had recovered more than 100 Steyr HS50 Mannlicher rifles, part of a consignment of 800 sold to Iran by Austria last year, during a series of raids in Iraq.
Astrid Harz, a spokesman for the Austrian foreign ministry, said yesterday that the sale had been "checked very thoroughly" and what happened to the rifles after they were delivered to Teheran ostensibly for use by border police was not the responsibility of her government. It was the responsibility of the Iranians, she said.
Franz Holzschuh, Steyr's chief executive, said the company had not been contacted by anyone officially to verify the serial numbers on the rifles. He said it was possibile that the weapons were copies.
The Austrian government concluded in 2004 that the.50 rifles, capable of piercing all types of body armour, would be used to fight drug smugglers. But American and British officials had warned that the weapons could fall into the hands of insurgents.
These are 50 caliber sniper rifles, if anyone is wondering..
They are accurate at very long distances..a mile at least.
To do what????
To shoot over the border at US troops?
Hey wait a minute, didn't Austria say the same thing when they sold the gas to the Germans ????
A totalitarian government such as Iran's would not let these weapons out of their control. They must have gotten to Iraq through official Iranian channels.
"for use by border police"
Who better to hand them over the border than the guys patrolling the border?
So what. Our arms have found their way into conflicts all over the world too. What did USSR think when we were supplying arms to the Afghan rebels? Those same arms are now being used against us there.
thanks, i did a quick search for 'steyr' so i thought i had a scoop!
They'll think that when some are used against their own citizens!!!
AND WITH THEIR BLESSING
Governer Swartzeneger.....Arnie....pick up the phone.....
Hey, let's remember just who it was that sold F-14 Tomcats to Iran. Fortunately, it takes spare parts to maintain those and the source of those spares dried up rather quickly after the Iranian revolution.
It's one thing to engage in urban sniping where the engagement ranges seldom exceed 100 yds, quite another to shoot at targets up to a mile away. This weapon implies LONG range engagements against people & vehicles (helicopters & Humvees). It also implies that the snipers are going to have advanced communications & spotters. In short, the shooters will be Iranians, because the marginal increase in targetting would not be worth the training & support efforts for the Mookie Bunch.
"
They are accurate at very long distances..a mile at least."
well the person shooting may be. The rifle isnt gonna hit squat by itself.
I justifiably stand corrected.
I think so too. These weapons were not stolen or misplaced by the Iranians, they were sent into Iraq.
Agreed, very few clean hands here.
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