Iraq secretly bought 1,000 Kornet missiles: Pentagon (those M1A1s WERE hit by Kornets!)

The Economic Times ^ | MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2003 10:30:08 AM | The Economic Times

[Smogger]

NEW YORK: Iraqis have secretly bought as many as a thousand Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles which are lightweight, very powerful and easy-to-use, Pentagon officials claimed.

The sellers are Ukrainian arms dealers and possibly some entrepreneurial Syrian generals or the Syrian government itself, the officials were quoted as saying by Newsweek. They reportedly sent Baghdad some 500 Kornets in January.

The Kornet anti-tank missiles were used to attack two US tanks, both Abrams M1A1s during the ongoing war in Iraq. The first M1s ever destroyed by enemy fire in battle, they were caught in an ambush of the US Army's 3/7 Cavalry near As Samawah, on the west bank of the Euphrates River.

Two is not a large number and the invading forces have at least 650 tanks in Iraq with more on the way. But US officials, the magazine said, are worried about the skill or "at least the fanaticism" of the guerrilla fighters who sneaked up on the tanks driving a "technical," a jeep, under cover of a sandstorm.

Less than two weeks into the war, the magazine examined whether it started with enough force and whether Operation Iraqi Freedom risks blowing up into a Middle East War.

That scenario, once very remote, is no longer unthinkable, it said. Barring a sudden collapse of the Baathist regime - still a possibility, senior administration officials insist - the war in Iraq is about to get bloodier.

"Somewhere deep in his network of tunnels and bunkers," Saddam Hussein "is convinced he can win," not by defeating superior US forces on the battlefield, but merely by surviving while Islamic rage builds from Cairo to Islamabad, the magazine said quoting a senior US official.

With a show of "shock and awe," American might was supposed to overwhelm the Iraqis and crack Saddam Hussein's regime. Tipped off by a spy in his inner circle, the US military tried to kill him and his sons as they slept with a surprise "decapitation" strike on the first night of the war.

US officials were engaged in delicate secret talks with some of Saddam Hussein's henchmen which appear to have gone nowhere. Saddam Hussein is almost surely alive; the spy, according to a knowledgeable source, has been "compromised," meaning that he is probably dead.

When American soldiers began dying in ambushes from Iraqis pretending to surrender, it didn't take long for Washington officialdom to start leaking exculpatory memoranda.

One CIA memo made available to Newsweek was entitled "Iraq: Potential aRisks in Rear Areas." The paper warned of Saddam loyalists attacking American supply lines with "hit and run tactics" using "RPGs rocket-propelled grenades) and small arms."

The document was widely distributed at the Pentagon, though one intelligence official, Newsweek said, acknowledges that, given Washington's strange hothouse ways, the paper might have been more carefully read at the top if it had been stamped "TOP SECRET" instead of merely "SECRET."

Saddam Hussein's irregulars have adopted tricks from the Somali guerrillas, including firing from behind groups of women and children.

Saddam Hussein will try to increase the American death rate, possibly by ordering his commanders to use bio-chem weapons, the magazine said.

[TheDon]

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Less than two weeks into the war, the magazine examined whether it started with enough force and whether Operation Iraqi Freedom risks blowing up into a Middle East War.

That scenario, once very remote, is no longer unthinkable, it said. Barring a sudden collapse of the Baathist regime - still a possibility, senior administration officials insist - the war in Iraq is about to get bloodier.

"Somewhere deep in his network of tunnels and bunkers," Saddam Hussein "is convinced he can win," not by defeating superior US forces on the battlefield, but merely by surviving while Islamic rage builds from Cairo to Islamabad, the magazine said quoting a senior US official.

The left's next set of talking points.

[Calpernia]

I gave you a direct link to UN documented for weaponery. If you take the time and study that entire database, you will see that the Putin administration has also been violating sanctions with Iraq. THEN, if you study the documentary of the US information, there is even more incidents that we cited outside of the UN documentation. Here is one example:

October 27, 2000

GILMAN, HELMS DEMAND ANSWERS ON SANCTIONS-VIOLATING FLIGHTS INTO IRAQ

WASHINGTON (October 27) – U.S. Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman (20th-NY), Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, sent the following letter today to Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright concerning sanctions against Iraq:

October 27, 2000

Dear Madam Secretary:

We suspect that you are extremely concerned, as we certainly are, about the increasing number of sanctions-violating flights into Iraq. Needless to say, it is not surprising that these flights have been initiated by Russia and France, both of which are permanent members of the Security Council.

Following the lead of Russia and France, other countries have likewise flown into Iraq. Among these countries are recipients of significant amounts of U.S. foreign aid.

This, Madam Secretary, is outrageous.

Since August, Russia has permitted three direct commercial flights to Baghdad, requesting permission for only two of those flights from the U.N. Sanctions Committee. We understand that Russia does not view these flights as sanctions violations.

In your testimony last month before the Foreign Relations Committee, you emphasized that this is not the U.S. position; specifically, you made clear that the United States believes "that these flights need approval, and . . . I think that absent any new kind of consensus, the [Sanctions Committee] will continue . . . to operate under practices of the last 10 years, that these flights require approval, not just notification."

Sanctions are a vital tool in denying Saddam Hussein the funding and supplies necessary for him to pursue weapons of mass destruction. Vigilance is all the more urgent, given the absence of weapons inspectors in Iraq for nearly two years.

Being fully committed, as we are, to ensuring that this despot does not develop the weapons to threaten the United States, our allies, or our interests, we acknowledge that this will be increasingly difficult if Saddam’s neighbors (and our allies and aid recipients) continue to violate the sanctions intended to protect them.

Madam Secretary, two points: 1) In your view, absent permission from the sanctions committee, do these flights constitute sanctions violations? And (2) Under the terms of Section 534 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act of 2000, do you agree that no assistance should be provided to nations in violation of U.N. sanctions on Iraq?

Please let us hear from you as to how Section 534 applies to the countries in violation of UN sanctions, and in particular to Russia and Egypt, two flagrant violators who receive billions in U.S. foreign aid.

We urgently need your response, Madam Secretary.

Sincerely,
(signed) (signed)
JESSE HELMS BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

[TLBSHOW]

BOOKMARKED

[cinFLA]

Slow down.

"The sellers are Ukrainian arms dealers and possibly some entrepreneurial Syrian generals or the Syrian government itself, the officials were quoted as saying by Newsweek. They reportedly sent Baghdad some 500 Kornets in January."

[hchutch]

Yep, noticed that one, too.

The fact is, some of these folks seem to be ignoring that. Must not fit their pre-conceived notions.

[Leatherneck_MT]

I tend to distrust Russia in most cases (Old habits die hard).

However, in their defense it could be that the missiles were sold to Syria with the Russians being unaware they were going to end up in the hands of the Iraqis.

I don't know that this happened, but it's a possibility. I'll reserve judgement until I see something concrete that says the Russians knowingly sold these anti-tank missiles to Iraq.

Semper fi

[RightWhale]

The dirty Russian dogs

The Economic Times, a hard-core military analysis rag no doubt, mentions Ukraine and Syria. Neither are part of Russia.

[Naspino]

He's not alive. Do you know how much it would do for his "resistance" if everyone saw him? The people there know their watching stuff from 1991. If he were alive then we'd know it. Actually let me modify that -- I don't care if he's alive or dead -- he's not in control and thats all anyone cares about over there.

[archy]

The absence of venom towards Russia on the part of officials is also big. Some old song lyrics hit the mark here: "Silence speaks a thousand words."

The officials aren't blaming Russia. They're casting an eye towards... Syria.

Never mind the Kornet-E. The Russian missile system to REALLY worry about is the AT-11b Refleks-m a 125-mm laser-guided antitank missile that can be fired through the smoothbore gun tube of any tank with a 125mm main gun, including the Republican Guard T-72s and the Iraqi T-55s upgraded with a 125mm gun, believed to be 350 or so of them, with a 90% probible hit range against another tank at 4000-5000 meter distances.

The Refleks 9M119 AT-11 SNIPER laser-guided missile with a hollow-charge warhead is effective against both armored targets and low-flying helicopters. The missile, which can penetrate 700-mm of RHAe out to 4000 meters, gives the T-90 the ability to engage other vehicles and helicopters before they can engage the T-90. The computerised fire control system and laser range-finder, coupled with the new Agave gunner's thermal sight, permit the T-90 to engage targets while on the move and at night.

Also used by the Ukranians, there's a better than excellent chance that Saddam has some. The question is, how many. And had the Russians or others supplied Saddam's forces with Refleks-m/SNIPER, or worse, 9M123 Krizantima, we'd really have problems to be worried about.

AT-11b Sniper B, 9M119M Refleks-M

Remarks:125mm gun fired
Guidance: SACLOS – Laser beam rider
Range: 5000 metres
Speed: 1700 metres/5 seconds
Warhead: Tandem with 700 mm or 650mm after detonating ERA.
Weight: 28 kg
In service: 1993

[Grampa Dave]

Go home Yankee Dogs. You are all dead.

Al_Schaf says, "Did you hear about the 180 day standdown by the American under equipped cowards?"

[Leroy S. Mort]

One CIA memo made available to Newsweek was entitled "Iraq: Potential aRisks in Rear Areas." The paper warned of Saddam loyalists attacking American supply lines with "hit and run tactics" using "RPGs rocket-propelled grenades) and small arms."

That's kinda like saying " Warning: the sun's gonna come up in the east this morning". Any one who DIDN'T expect this is an idiot (or a reporter - excuse my oxymoron).

[JudgemAll]

Putin was KGB. I still call it the Soviet Union. He is KGB. He is communist. A tiger does not get rid of its stripes. This guy has not got rid of his communism. He is still a commie. All their leaders are.

We think so too

for how could one ignore the communist rhetorical excrement decried here.

[maestro]

Ur#6)

One commentator described post-1991 Russia as "The Yard Sale at the End of History."

Putin is certainly having major problems with Russia's 'Black Market'.

I think that is the reason for the new re-centralization of intelligence.

(Russia is 'almost' out of control in many regions?)

This can only get worse......for the time being.

IMO

Thanks for your postings!

[Stavka2]

Hay maybe you didn't read your own article...try it again.

The sellers are Ukrainian arms dealers and possibly some entrepreneurial Syrian generals or the Syrian government itself, the officials were quoted as saying by Newsweek. They reportedly sent Baghdad some 500 Kornets in January

Now can you tell the difference between Ukraine and Russia? Probably not, but let me let you in on a little secret, Ukraine is an independent nation that does what it wants. Blame them, not Russia. And for your other information, Ukraine inhereted a lot of the Soviet weapons plants so they make their own missiles.

[Stavka2]

Besides, previous articles described the missile as wire guided and Kornets are laser guided...the previous version has been around for 20 years.

[Stavka2]

Go reread the article, it says Ukrainians...part of the Great Coalition. You knee jerk Russian haters can't even read your own propaganda.

[Stavka2]

They're filled with so much hatred they can't even read. It says Ukrainians and Syrians...so they instantly assume Russians. They are just looking for any excuse to vent their hatred.

[El Gato]

Saddam Hussein's regime. Tipped off by a spy in his inner circle, the US military tried to kill him and his sons as they slept with a surprise "decapitation" strike on the first night of the war.

And may very well have done so.

[Stavka2]

First its Ukrainians. Try to figure out where that is on the map.

Second, the Communists were the only players in town.

Third, for a "communist" he's done what most US conservatives would cream themselves to do. Flat 13% tax rate (US proposals were 17-19%), 24% corporate tax (US is 36%), liberal self defense laws, private property laws, slashing beaurocracy by a third, judicial law system, privatizing the Russian army, etc...yup, just a red all over.

Since the likes of you can't get over the end of the Cold War, guess your generation will have to die off and become irrelavent before relations really change.