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[The U.S. is intensifying its saber rattling against Ukraine and its neighbor Belarus, accusing each of allegedly aiding and abetting the infamous 'axis of evil' through arms sales to Baghdad. The most ominous aspect of the following report is the contention that the putative sales "could increase dramatically danger levels to US and British pilots." Which is to say bombers. Endangering the lives of US servicemen is a serious - the most serious - accusation that can be leveled in today's unipolar militarized world and is as clear a threat to both countries as can be made. Comparable to the threats, delivered directly in the Ukranian capital last year by U.S. officials, that Ukraine must immediately abrogate a previous contract for military helicopters to Macedonia when the latter nation was under siege by US/NATO-supported UCK-NLA terrorists operating out of Kosovo. The message then as now could not be more blunt: Halt or else. And then there's the question of NATO candidate member and supplier of military forces to Afghanistan, Romania, threatening Ukraine over disputed territory in the Black Sea. Intimidation and fragmentation are the hallmarks of the refurbished NATO, a greater danger to the world with each passing day.] Kuchma Accused of Selling Advanced Anti-aircaft Weapons to Iraq KIEV, Apr 15, 2002 -- (dpa) Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has been accused of selling advanced anti-aircraft weapons to Sadaam Hussein of Iraq, Ukrainian news agencies reported Sunday. Reports cited a statement made in California by former Kuchma bodyguard Mykola Melnichenko, who said he had shown a U.S. grand jury proof that Kuchma ordered and personally controlled deliveries of Kolchuga radars to the Iraqi dictator. Ukrainian weapons experts describe the Kolchuga as a passive radar designed to detect stealth and other aircraft without emitting any electronic signature. Components of the system are reportedly manufactured in Kiev and Odessa. The secret Ukraine-Iraq arms deal took place in the late 1990s and was worth 100 million dollars, Melnichenko claimed. Melnichenko reportedly said he presented a San Francisco grand jury with original audio recordings of conversations between Kuchma and former Ukrspetsexport director Valery Malev discussing the transaction. Ukrspetsexport is the Ukrainian government monopoly weapons export. Malev died in a car crash last month. The tape played to San Francisco judge Martha Boersch reportedly documented Kuchma instructing Malev to disguise the radar shipment to Iraq as truck parts from Ukraine's Kremenchuh KrAZ automobile factory, and to provide false passports to Ukrainian technicians accompanying the shipment. The recording also contained evidence of a Kuchma scheme to cut a Jordanian middleman out of the transaction, the Ukrainska Pravda web magazine reported. Kuchma has repeatedly denied allegations he organized illegal transfers of Ukrainian weapons abroad, a charge made by his opponents in 1997. Anti-corruption deputy Oleksander Zhyr made the first public allegation Kuchma sold weapons to Iraq last month. The Kolchuga system, were it in fact in use with Iraqi troops, could increase dramatically danger levels to U.S. and British pilots enforcing two no-fly zones in Iraq, Ukrainian military specialists said. The Kolchuga makes no electronic transmissions and is therefore invisible to most U.S. anti-radar missiles, which home in on a radar's emissions. (C)2002. dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
