Iraq War Generates Free Publicity for Russian Weapons

Frontpage Magazine ^ | 04-07-03 | Agency France Press

[Norm640]

The war in Iraq, which has seen stiff Iraqi resistance against US and British troops, has opened up market opportunities for Russian weapons used by Baghdad's forces, military experts said.

"We got a great advertising gift for our weapons in Iraq," Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov was quoted as saying by the Interfax-AVN news agency on Friday.

The conflict will "generate a surge in interest in anti-aircraft defences and radio-electronic equipment," predicted Alexander Nozdrachev, head of the state-run Russian Agency for Conventional Weapons, quoted by Interfax-AVN.

Russian weapons sales last year totalled 4.5 billion dollars (4.1 billion euros), concentrated mainly on just two countries, China and India, although Russia has expanded sales to other regions.

"The war is useful for Russia. The Iraqi army is creating publicity for Russian weapons," respected business daily Vedomosti commented recently.

"Old launch-grenades, anti-tank missiles and mines, as well as primitive anti-aircraft equipment" from Soviet times "are inflicting losses on the coalition forces," Vedomosti said.

US M1 Abrams battle tanks, the most advanced tank in the world, have been damaged by hand-held rocket-propelled grenades, the RPG-7s, and Malyutka anti-tank missiles, which were designed in the 1960s, defence analyst Konstantin Makienko said.

"The scandal around the Kornet anti-tank missiles could boost interest in these arms," added Makienko, from the Centre for Strategy and Technologies Analysis.

The United States has accused Russian firms of selling Iraq anti-tank missiles and satellite jamming devices as well as night-vision goggles, in violation of the UN embargo. Moscow has firmly denied the allegations.

One of the firms concerned hit back at Washington, accusing the United States of "trying to find a scapegoat because their bombs are not falling as accurately as they want."

"The US weapons have been the cause of many mistakes in Iraq," hitting their own forces or civilians, Makienko pointed out.

With significant ground operations in the Iraq war, the "demand for Russian tanks and anti-tank missiles will rise," predicted Ivan Safranchuk from the Centre for Defence Information.

This will be particularly the case in other members of Washington's "axis of evil," Iran and North Korea (news - web sites), who fear the United States will target them after Iraq, Marat Kenzhetayev from the Russian Centre for Disarmament Problems told Vedomosti.

Most in demand will be TOR-M1 Short-range Air Defence Missile Systems (SA-15 under NATO (news - web sites) classification) and S-300 surface-to-air missiles (SA-10 Grumble), from Syria, Iran, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, according to Makienko.

According to some analysts, there has already been a surge in interest for Russian weapons at the IDEX-2003 arms exhibition, the biggest in the Middle East, which took place on the eve of the war in Abu Dhabi from March 16 to 20.

[Beck_isright]

"But the design of that reactor prevents from producing the weapon grade matherials."

BUNK. Do you honestly think we were increasing our force levels to 600,000 in the region for just Iraq? Between Iraq, Afghanistan and the former Soviet Central Asian Republics we have quietly in most areas increased our force levels to deal with Iran. They will be destroyed if the Russians do not "encourage" them to destroy their reactor. If the Russians do not, we will.

V

[Centurion2000]

bump for later

[RusIvan]

That is why you should fear it as we do. Iran will never get the bomb. +++

I understand. I fear it. I'm pro US take out Iran.
Let them pay Russia first then bomb them:).

I simply don't beleive that Russian atomic ministry will give them bomb technology willingly. They don't fools.
If they gave them that reactor then they sure that Iranians will not extract nothing from it.
Of cause that Iranians may hope whatever they hope. Probably they will be badly surprised at the end. I cann't know for sure.

[No Left Turn]

maybe the communists would win more then 23% of the vote.

Yeah, there's so much Russian sorrow for the death of mutli-millions that the poor communists can only muster 23% of the Russian vote. How many millions of Russians does 23% represent? Funny, I don't see the Nazis garnering 23% of the German vote. And the Nazis didn't even come close to the killing done by the Soviets.

Probably about as much as the US spent versis the Vietnamese.

Doubtful. The US got pretty good bang for its buck from the military perspective. We never lost a battle against the Soviet armed Vietnamese, except the political one. We also left Veitnam with valuable military lessons that enable us to win today. However, the Russians retreated from Afghanistan then collapsed as a society.

they were once called the Indians, there are only about 1.5 million of them, that is if you count that 1/4th is all you need to be counted an Indian. Maybe you're familiar with the Indian Question, the Trail of Tears, the Siminal Wars, Wounded Knee, Little Big Horn and hundreds of other such names.

There wasn't much more of them to start with. Your effort to find moral relativism between the 20th Century communist charnel house and US treatment of the Indians in the 19th Century is an indicator of how little regard Russians have for their attrocious existence in the modern era.

[RusIvan]

Yeah, there's so much Russian sorrow for the death of mutli-millions that the poor communists can only muster 23% of the Russian vote.+++

It is good point.
I say you what. Commies are very flexible in thier propaganda. Now they disgise themselves as patriots. Some voters buy that.
There are lot of old folks who live now not very good. They have thier nostalgia for good old times.
But that number of thier voters diminishes.
BTW today commies are lot like socialists of europe.
They no more for revolutions or repressions. They tell that was mistakes of past. They tell they for winning of elections now. Just like socialists counterparts.
Something changed.

[enemy9oclock]

No HARMS were launched - a simple gravity bomb with a GPS guidance device was dropped on a building where the Iraqis had set up a Russian jamming device. One bomb proved that the $hit don't work, therefore the other $hit did not need to be destroyed. Nice try, though.

[No Left Turn]

Just like you were hoping the Islamics would kill more Russians...go look in a mirror.

Wrong again. I was sincere in my hope that the Chechens don't kill more Russians. I just find it odd that the Russian government, which has an acute Islamic problem, would help a regime that has been known to train Islamic facists. I also find it odd that the Russian people would cheer on a regime that has most likely trained some of the Chechens who killed their own. Jealousy towards the US is destroying rationality, even the sense of self preservation, in many countries, including Russia. Let me ask you: what were the Russians doing in Iraq, if not trying to help Baghdad reach its goal of inflicting harm on US soldiers? It didn't work, but the Russians were still there, night-vision goggles and all.

[RusIvan]

However, the Russians retreated from Afghanistan then collapsed as a society. +++

It was Soviet. Even today candidates for NATO the baltic statemen fought in Afganistan. They have big number of Afgan veterans.
Russian society was created by Afgan together with other factors of cause.

[Stavka2]

You mean like Saudi Arabia...which incidently created the Al Quida and Al Quida spin offs and finances the Chechins. Iraq didn't train Chechins, Saudi Arabia and Turkey did.

[Stavka2]

The Soviets lost 15 thousand troops and took out 1 million Afghans...or about 1 fifth the losses of the US in Vietnam. And learned quite a few lesssons. They no more retreated then the images of US helicopters taking off from the embassy with people clinging while the N. Vietnamese army was marching on Siagon.

Here read, learn.

How the Soviets Won in Afghanistan; And how the U.S. will win

[Beck_isright]

"You mean like Saudi Arabia...which incidently created the Al Quida and Al Quida spin offs and finances the Chechins. Iraq didn't train Chechins, Saudi Arabia and Turkey did."

And Russia, aka the old Soviet Union trained the PLO, PLF, Hamas, Hezbollah, PKK, Tamil Tigers, etc., etc. Don't go tit for tat. The indictment of the Russian history of terrorist armies and dictatorships is far worse than ours. If you don't believe me, look at the mess the former communist sponsored "revolutionaries" in Rhodesia have made of that nation. And Mozambique. And Angola. And Chad....etc....

V

[Stavka2]

One little difference you like to ignore: The old Soviet Union is dead, an elected Republican government is in power...what's the US excuse for the KLA, Turks, Egyptians, Pakistanies, Bosnians, etc?

[Stavka2]

Russian, Soviet to these people there is no difference and never will be. Get the point yet?

[Beck_isright]

What is the Russian excuse for the PKK, PLF, Hamas, Tamil Tigers, etc.?? Your nation still sells to terrorists too. DON'T EVEN try to portray innocence. It's the bs that makes flowers grow 20 feet high and why many Americans do not trust the KGB (oops, "former") government running your nation now. Take your bovine scattalogy somewhere that it matters. I'm guessing 80% plus of FReepers would side with me. And many of us looked through a scope at the "former" Soviet troops not too far away in many nations. And one more thing: We don't care what you think. Our nation will end the terrorist threat to our nation in our own way. It's is very advisible that your pissant poor nation does not get in our way.

V

[TomB]

You mean like Saudi Arabia...which incidently created the Al Quida and Al Quida spin offs and finances the Chechins. Iraq didn't train Chechins, Saudi Arabia and Turkey did.

Wrong again (anyone else here sensing a trend?). No country created al QAEDA, fundamentalist islam created it. And fundamentalist islam had its modern roots in Iran.

[No Left Turn]

And learned quite a few lesssons.

Like how to storm a Moscow theatre? It seems Soviet Russia suffered much more from its loss in Afghanistan than the US did from Vietnam. We still exist and project power to protect ourselves. Meanwhile, Russians whine that the US is fighting an unjust war against the same type that just blew up a car in Grozny. You can bitch all you want about the Saudis, but you lose credibility when you ignore the Iraqi connection to international terrorism. Two Russian generals were in Iraq boasting about the military help they gave to Iraq, and you don't have a problem with that. You're a lamb. I'll bet that bomb that went off in Grozny is much more likely to have Russian components in it than American.

[Beck_isright]

A very nice and accurate posting. Bump!

[Stavka2]

Wrong again. Fundimentalist islam has its roots deep in Wahhibism, and that is what the House of Saud is tide to. Al Quida hates the Iranians for being Shietes....they were funded and still are by the Saudi Royals. Saudi Arabia was one of 3 countries to recognize the Taliban, Pakistan (their creators) were the other. Yeah there is a trend: petro dollars buy you immunity from paying for your terrorism.

[Stavka2]

Oh, and tell me bright one, how would you have solved that situation and gotten 600 out of 700 people out alive. Since you can criticize so well, you'd better have a solution...so lets hear it. The Soviet Union died because 1. Russians finally came to power, if you knew anything on the subject, you'd know that Gorbachov was the first ethnic Russian to run the Soviet Union and the one who dismantled it and 2. it died because its economy could have never worked. Everyone in Russia since 1971 knew the ship was sinking.

The Iraqies might contribute to terror, but their connection to 911 is thread bare, the Saudi is like a steel cable. And as far as terrorism goes: why does the US support Pakistan who trains terrorists and kills Indians. Why does the US insist that Isreal still deal with the Palies who are nothing but terrorists. Why does the US refuse to label the Chechins as terrorists and still meets with them on a regular basis? Why does the US continue to allow the IRA to raise almost all its funding in America? Why does the US continue to fund and protect the KLA? Some war on terror....or are some terrorists convinient "freedom" fighters?

[Stavka2]

Again you don't know what you're talking about. Stalin killed 30 million over 30 years. Hitler killed 12 million in the camps, 12 million in Russia, 4 million in Poland, 1 million in Yugoslavia and another million or two spread around...and these are only civilian deaths and all in 5 years...that's over 30 million people in 1/6th the time. Both are murderers but the Nazies (who by the way have a ton of organizations in the US) were by and far the worst.