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I took a quick look at a site called www.iraqwatch.org - apparently here is some of the things they get from France:

Aerospatiale and Matra Espace - for use with missiles, Contracted to supply the high-resolution optic system capable of infra-red photography for a Brazilian-made reconnaissance satellite.

CERBAG - nuclear technology, CERBAG is a consortium of Technicatome, SGN, Bouygues, Comsip Entreprise, and Construction Navales et Industrielles de la Mediterrannee (CNIM). Built the Osirak reactor (under international safeguards) in 1981 which Israel destroyed in 1981, and a critical assembly; provided about 12.5 kilograms of highly-enriched uranium reactor fuel; contract valued at $37.5 million.

Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique - nuclear technology, in 1981, Supplied three tons of heavy water along with the Osirak reactor.

Protec SA - chemical weapons, from 1986 to 1990, Exported a DM2.2 million chemical weapon factory to Iraq jointly with German firms Karl Kolb and WET; bought chemical equipment from other French firms for resale to Iraq; attempted to export 12 tons of tabun precursors, seized by French authorities.

Sagem - missile technology, Listed in Consen documents as the potential supplier of inertial navigation and guidance system for the Condor II intermediate-range missile during the 1980's.

Sciaky - nuclear technology, Manufactured two electron beam welders found by U.N. inspectors at nuclear weapon sites; capable of being used to develop nuclear weapons.

SGN (Societe Generale pour les Techniques Nouvelles) - nuclear technology, in the 1970's - Supplied auxiliary facilities for Tuwaitha nuclear center, including an effluent treatment station and a laboratory hot cell useful in extracting plutonium from spent reactor fuel.

Thomson CSF - Military - 1990: Supplied radar technology used to convert an Ilyushin-76 into an AWACS aircraft; sold $157 million worth of defense electronics equipment.

Thomson CSF - Military, nuclear - Built Saad 13, a military radar factory, on a turnkey basis on contract with State Organization for Technical Industries (SOTI), for $600 million; Saad 13 also called Salah al Din, which manufactured high-frequency military communication equipment and radar, under license for the Iraqi army, and was found by U.N. inspectors to have manufactured components for equipment used in making nuclear fuel for the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission (which had primary responsibility for the centrifuge program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons); Thomson representatives were present from mid-1980 until the August 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Thomson CSF - Nuclear - Manufactured high voltage DC switches such as thyrister oblique switches, found during IAEA inspections.

What the pattern suggests is that France has been heavily involved with supplying much of Iraq's nuclear technology from the 1980's on through. This is just what is in the public domain. What else is there I wonder?

Regards, Ivan

Ever watch the movie "Deterence"? It's kinda cheesy and poorly scripted but the basic plot was that Iraq had invaded Saudi oil fields and were moving through the rest of the country and the US had no way of stopping them since it happened so fast. As a result the president ordered a nuclear bomb to be dropped on Baghdad in 2 hours unless the Iraqis left SA. As a result Iraq plays it's trump card of nuclear tipped missiles they got from France which are aimed at every WEstern capitol. The exchange between the French and American president was my favorite. The French president blamed it all on the former french leader and ended it with "...but Saddam promised he wouldn't use them against us."

They captured the French mindset perfectly. Although I loved this quote:

Iraqi Ambassador Omari (over phone call)-"Mr. President, understand this. We have the power. We have the oil."

President Emerson- "..and I have the match."

*slams phone down*