French Missiles Found In Iraq (AGAIN!!!)

Discussed here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/994679/posts

Let's keep the Dem's on the run!
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UPDATE - Polish troops find new French missiles in Iraq
Friday October 3, 3:26 pm ET
By Pawel Kozlowski

http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/031003/iraq_poland_missiles_2.html

(Adds details, French reaction)
WARSAW, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Polish troops in Iraq have found four French-built advanced anti-aircraft missiles which were built this year, a Polish Defence Ministry spokesman told Reuters on Friday.

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France strongly denied having sold any such missiles to Iraq for nearly two decades, and said it was impossible that its newest missiles should turn up in Iraq.

"Polish troops discovered an ammunition depot on September 29 near the region of Hilla and there were four French-made Roland-type missiles," Defence Ministry spokesman Eugeniusz Mleczak said.

"It is not the first time Polish troops found ammunition in Iraq but to our surprise these missiles were produced in 2003."

The Roland anti-aircraft system is a short-range air defence missile in service with at least 10 countries, including France and Germany.

They are fired from a mobile launcher vehicle and defence experts say the missiles are highly effective against aircraft attacking at low and medium altitude.

Under a strict trade embargo imposed by the United Nations, Iraq was barred from importing arms after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Among others, Russia, Britain and France all sold arms to Iraq in the 1970s and 1980s. In Iraq's arsenal were Soviet-built Scud missiles, British Chieftain tanks and French Mirage fighters.

But Iraq managed to circumvent the arms trade ban in the 1990s through shadowy deals with various arms traders and kept its military equipment functioning.

"NO MILITARY EXPORTS"

"Since July 1990, France has not authorised a single shipment of military equipment to Iraq," a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told Reuters. Similar accusations were made in the U.S. media in April, she said.

In 1980-81, 13 Roland-1 missile systems were shipped to Iraq and from 1983 to 1986, 100 Roland-2 missile systems. The Roland-3 has never been exported to Iraq, she said.

"It is not credible to say that the Roland missiles found a few days ago were produced in 2003 and delivered just before the Anglo-American intervention," the spokeswoman said.

"Let's be absolutely clear about this: no military exports to Iraq were licensed after July 1990."

It was unlikely that the missiles could be used 17-18 years after their delivery, she added.

Mleczak said Polish troops were notified about the missiles by a local Iraqi, who received a reward for the information.

"The ammunition depot was neutralised," said Mleczak. Polish television pictures showed missiles placed in a shallow trench and a huge explosion when the Poles blew up munitions at the site.

Since early September, Poland, a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, has led a multinational force in one of four so-called stabilisation zones, in central Iraq.

In the run-up to the outbreak of the 2003 Iraq war, American and British combat pilots struck Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries repeatedly as they patrolled no-fly zones in the north and south of the country.

BUMP!

In other news, France says:

'We're screwed.'

Time for Clinton parsing:

"Since July 1990, France has not authorised a single shipment of military equipment to Iraq," a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told Reuters.

In other words, we made multiple officially unauthorized shipments.

"Let's be absolutely clear about this: no military exports to Iraq were licensed after July 1990."

So these shipments were "unlicensed" whatever that means. Also, they did not have sexual relations with that dictator, Saddam Hussein.

Sacré Bleu!

LOL ;)

Poland has apologised over this matter to the French.

Video footage exists of what the Polish Forces found. In this footage a Polish soldier is holding up several metal tags with the manufactuer SNIAS. This is a company that no longer exists. It became Aerospatiale in 1984 and then EADS. The date of manufacturer and the serial codes state "84". The Polish Defence Minister has already expressed his regrets at the information originally released. These were Roland missiles that were delivered in the 1980s.

"Since July 1990, France has not authorised a single shipment of military equipment to Iraq," a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told Reuters. Similar accusations were made in the U.S. media in April, she said.

Good. Now let's look up the serial numbers and find out just who France did sell the missiles to.

Nothing a little basic bookkeeping won't clear up.

Poland: French Missile Report Was Wrong

Good. Now let's look up the serial numbers and find out just who France did sell the missiles to. Nothing a little basic bookkeeping won't clear up.

We could if they still existed. The Poles destroyed them.

I hope they at least took pictures..

Are missiles usually dated like that? Could it be some other identifier that just happens to look like a date?

A clean surgical strike. Nice dissection.

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=787763

WARSAW/ROME (Reuters) - Poland apologized to France on Saturday for claiming that its troops had found advanced French-made missiles in Iraq that had been produced this year.

The report sparked strong criticism from French President Jacques Chirac, who called it wrong and drawn up without proper checks.

However, neither Polish nor French authorities denied that the Roland-type anti-aircraft weapons were discovered near the Iraqi town of Hilla in a zone controlled by the Polish-led military force.

"Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski expresses regret concerning the information on the alleged date of the production of these missiles," the ministry said in a statement, adding that a investigation had been ordered.

The Polish Defense Ministry said on Friday that Polish troops in Iraq had discovered four French-made Roland missiles, which are part of short-range air defense systems in many countries including France and Germany.

Ministry spokesman Eugeniusz Mleczak told Reuters the missiles were manufactured in 2003, but the French Foreign Ministry promptly denied that, saying production of the most modern Roland 3 rocket ended in 1993.

"There could not be any 2003 missiles because those missiles have not been manufactured for 15 years," Chirac told a news conference at a European Union summit in Rome.

"I believe the Polish soldiers have created confusion that could have been avoided with thorough verification," he said, adding that he had made the point to Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller "in a friendly but frank and firm way."

FRANCE ANGRY

The spat briefly sent France's relations with Poland, the biggest of 10 countries set to join the EU in seven months, to fresh lows after Chirac criticized Poland for supporting the U.S.-led war on Iraq, some diplomats said.

But a senior French diplomatic source told reporters that following the Warsaw's apology "France was satisfied and the issue was clarified."

Many Polish politicians cannot forgive Chirac, an outspoken opponent of the war, for his remark this year that Poland and other EU newcomers "missed a good opportunity to keep quiet" when they signed a joint open letter in support of Washington.

France has been irritated by Poland's refusal to accept a new EU voting system embedded in a draft constitution which EU members and newcomers debated in Rome.

The United States gave a Polish-led force control over a zone in south-central Iraq after Poland emerged as one of its strongest allies in the war against Iraq.

Industrial sources in France said 2003 was the year the missiles were checked in Iraq by an Iraqi company, not the year of manufacture.

A French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday that Roland 1 missile systems were sent to Iraq from 1980 to 1981 and Roland 2 systems from 1983 to 1986. The Roland 3 was never exported to Iraq, she said.

Under a strict trade embargo imposed by the United Nations, Iraq was barred from buying arms after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. But Baghdad managed to circumvent the ban in the 1990s through shadowy deals with various arms traders.

Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited.