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Germany Says It Sent Patriot Missiles Stopped In Finland
WSJ ^ | Dec 22, 2011 | Arild Moen

Posted on 12/22/2011 11:53:31 AM PST by bkopto

A German defense ministry spokesman on Thursday confirmed that a shipment of missiles discovered in Finland were sent from Germany and were enroute to South Korea.

"These missiles are from German military stockpiles and were sold entirely legally with all requisite legal and customs documentation," the spokesman said.

The Patriot missiles were bound for South Korea, and the sale was part of a previous standing agreement, he added.

Earlier Thursday, Finland's National Bureau of Investigation said they had detained two people suspected of illegal transit shipping of weaponry after customs officials found what they described as 69 Patriot surface-to-air missiles and about 160 tons of explosives aboard Danish-owned MS Thor Liberty bound for South Korea.

Finnish custom officials on Wednesday seized the cargo ship in the harbor of Kotka, about 120 kilometers East of Helsinki, as the weaponry shipment lacked the required permit from Finland's Ministry of Defense.

"We have been questioning the whole crew since yesterday and have detained two members of the crew," detective superintendent Timo Virtanen of the NBI told Dow Jones Newswires.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Germany
KEYWORDS: finland; usmissiles; usmisslies
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1 posted on 12/22/2011 11:53:34 AM PST by bkopto
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To: bkopto

In other words, this was just an ally sending missiles to another ally.

Why is this any big deal after we find that out?


2 posted on 12/22/2011 11:58:38 AM PST by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
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To: bkopto; Olog-hai

Hmmm... the original story had them going to China, not South Korea...


3 posted on 12/22/2011 12:01:12 PM PST by wolfman23601
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To: GeronL

Capitolism keeping Communism alive and safe. Again.


4 posted on 12/22/2011 12:04:07 PM PST by aimhigh
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To: wolfman23601

“the original story had them going to China, not South Korea”

Exactly.

I’m thinking it’s all part of the EU bailout plan from China. I’m sure Obama and his team are all over it.


5 posted on 12/22/2011 12:10:05 PM PST by Dogbert41 (A vote for Romney is a vote for Luke warm slop)
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To: wolfman23601

Actually the original story did say South Korea. Someone changed it to China in a FR post.


6 posted on 12/22/2011 12:18:45 PM PST by X-spurt
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To: GeronL; bkopto
Look at a map. If shipped from Germany probably at the port there near Hamburg (Bremerhaven?), they would never be any where near Helsinki. Being further East of Helsinki makes it look like they were headed for Russia! Looks like someone was double dealing to me.

That vessel in route to South Korea should never have been where it ended up.


7 posted on 12/22/2011 12:19:20 PM PST by Jeff Head (Liberty is not free. Never has been, never will be. (www.dragonsfuryseries.com))
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To: X-spurt

You sure?

BBC News - Finland ‘finds Patriot missiles’ on China-bound ship

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16292244


8 posted on 12/22/2011 12:29:26 PM PST by wolfman23601
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To: Jeff Head

That doesn’t mean anything. It could have looped the Baltic, then headed out to sea after several ports of call. It also could have been billed to tranship in Helsinki. I would like to see the bill of lading.


9 posted on 12/22/2011 12:33:13 PM PST by wolfman23601
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To: Jeff Head

This might shock some people but ships don’t travel in straight lines between two ports. They travel circuits (sometimes called loops) with calls in multiple ports.

There are many such loops that travel between northern Europe and east Asia.


10 posted on 12/22/2011 12:34:01 PM PST by ruiner
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To: bkopto

verrrr-ry interestink!! (/artie johnson)


11 posted on 12/22/2011 1:06:09 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Obama: Epic Fail or Bust!!!)
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To: ruiner; wolfman23601

Thanks...and good enough. If he was in essence making a loop to ports to fill up his hold and in essence, “get a full load”, I understand that and it is a fair and understandable explanation.

My guess is that the authorities are looking at the bill of lading and all of that to determine the facts of the matter. Just looked suspicious to me.


12 posted on 12/22/2011 1:07:52 PM PST by Jeff Head (Liberty is not free. Never has been, never will be. (www.dragonsfuryseries.com))
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To: bkopto

Gee- Why not ship them federal express. At least that way we know that they will be drop tested, and broken when they arrive.

The only way these things should be shipped anywhere is by military transport. What a crazy world.


13 posted on 12/22/2011 1:12:47 PM PST by Revel
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To: bkopto

the original story stated they were labeled as fireworks.

wuzup??


14 posted on 12/22/2011 1:12:47 PM PST by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" and its allies.)
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To: Jeff Head

What is interesting is I looked up the ship owner and it is a charter company. The article doesn’t mention who chartered the vessel. The main reason I wanted to look that up was to see what the port rotation is on its service, but I don’t have the information to figure that out.


15 posted on 12/22/2011 1:25:38 PM PST by wolfman23601
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To: ruiner

So, if they were doing a loop on the European side, they could have planned to do a loop on the Asian side. So the ship may have been bound to South Korea and China. With the missile cargo intended to be dropped off in South Korea.

I’m all for SK getting these missiles. They need them more than Germany. I also can see why they might try to ship them secretly.


16 posted on 12/22/2011 1:25:53 PM PST by toast
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To: Jeff Head

LOL. Somebody needs a GPS for Christmas.


17 posted on 12/22/2011 1:28:26 PM PST by McGruff (Hold the House, retake the Senate.)
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To: bkopto

Why would it be labeled fireworks and why did the article say it was China bound? So did Germany buy Patriots from Raytheon and mark them up for sale to the S Koreans?
________________________________________
Great questions, big hint here, fireworks are exported from China. More to come stay tuned.


18 posted on 12/22/2011 1:42:29 PM PST by Neoliberalnot ((Read "The Grey Book" for an alternative to corruption in DC))
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To: Neoliberalnot

I doubt Raytheon would be allowed to sell them directly to a foreign government. More likely the US military ordered them from Raytheon and sold them to the Germans.


19 posted on 12/22/2011 1:52:59 PM PST by wolfman23601
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To: Jeff Head

Ships that are at sea and headed to a specific port carrying cargo can be diverted to another port temporarily, “subject to inducement.” If they have room aboard and there is no particular hurry to deliver cargo to, say, Buenos Aires, coming from Miami, the captain recieves a telegram diverting him to, say, Recife, Brazil, he’ll do it. No sense in traveling with empty cargo space. And then they’re back on their way to BA.


20 posted on 12/22/2011 2:01:33 PM PST by Ax
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