Posted on 12/20/2009 11:59:09 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
An illicit North Korean arms shipment seized in Thailand last week was destined for the Middle East, the head of US intelligence said Friday.
About 30 tonnes of sanctions-busting weapons were confiscated in Bangkok on Saturday but it had remained unclear where the North Korean shipment was headed.
"Teamwork among different agencies in the United States and partners abroad just last week led to the interdiction of a Middle East-bound cargo of North Korean weapons," Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence, wrote in a commentary in the Washington Post.
Blair's reference marked the first public comment by the administration on the destination of the arms and the first official confirmation on the US role in the case.
Thai officials had said they seized the cargo plane carrying missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons on a tip from the United States.
The cache was discovered after the plane landed for refueling on Friday.
The plane began its journey in Pyongyang and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the weapons came from a North Korean company.
Thai officials said they were enforcing United Nations Resolution 1874 passed in June following North Korean missile and nuclear tests.
It was the first known airborne arms cargo from Pyongyang to have been seized since the resolution banned all its weapons exports.
Blair cited the seizure in a commentary touting improved cooperation among the country's 16 intelligence agencies.
After the attacks of September 11, 2001 revealed botched coordination among US spy services, Congress launched a sweeping reorganization with the goal of ensuring information would be shared among intelligence and law enforcement agencies
(Excerpt) Read more at spacewar.com ...
Guess who they were going to. Okay I’ll help you along.
Hamas
Hezbullah
Syria
PLO
Iran
Al Qaeda in Iraq
Yemeni rebels
Somalia (okay, it’s Africa but they are an Al Qaeda outpost)
If the ship misses the Middle East, it can always go to Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and maybe El Salvador. All run by reds of various stripes.
Next question.
I agree.
MI Ping
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