[CTRL] French selling military parts to Iraq

[David Sutherland]

-Caveat Lector- French selling military parts to Iraq AFP - A French company has been selling spare parts to Iraq for its fighter jets and military helicopters during the past several months, The Washington Times reports. Citing unnamed intelligence officials, the newspaper said the company that has not been identified sold the parts to a trading company in the United Arab Emirates, which then shipped the parts through a third country into Iraq by truck. The spare parts included goods for Iraq's French-made Mirage F-1 jets and Gazelle attack helicopters, according to the report. An intelligence official said the illegal spare-parts pipeline was discovered in the past two weeks and that sensitive intelligence about the transfers indicates that the parts were smuggled to Iraq as recently as January, The Times said. The parts appear to be part of an effort by the Iraqi military to build up materiel for its air forces before any US military action, which could occur before the end of the month, the report said. The officials identified the purchaser of the parts as the Al Tamoor Trading Co., which is based in Dubai, according to the paper. The French military parts were then sent by truck into Iraq from a neighbouring country the officials declined to identify. Iraq has more than 50 Mirage F-1 jets and an unknown number of Gazelle attack helicopters, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. An administration official said, however, that intelligence reports did not indicate that the activity was sanctioned by the French government or that Paris knows about the transfers, The Times said. �AAP 2003 <A HREF="">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om