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| Axis of Evil |
| 'Equipment missing' at Iraq arms site |
| 2002-12-02 |
| United Nations weapons inspectors say equipment has gone missing from a missile factory in Baghdad they inspected four years ago. "In 1998, the site contained a number of pieces of equipment tagged by the United Nations Special Commission [Unscom] and several monitoring cameras," the statement issued by the inspectors said. "None of these are currently present at the facility." "Hey! That's pretty nice! Can I have it?" "Yeah, sure. They ain't comin' back for it..." The monitors made the discovery during a surprise visit to the plant on the fifth day of inspections in Iraq. The disclosure marks the first setback for Iraq since the inspections resumed under a tough new UN mandate. The inspectors said the Iraqis claimed some of the equipment had been destroyed in allied bombing raids, and some had been transferred to other sites. "Look, Mahmoud, I don't care if you did give it to your niece for a wedding present. Get it back!" Reuters news agency quoted a UN source as saying that Iraqi officials had informed the inspectors as to where the equipment had been transferred. "When the time comes, our inspectors will verify their claims," the unnamed source said. "I just hope she didn't break it..." The al-Karama site has in the past helped manufacture control systems for medium-range Scud ballistic missiles, which are banned under UN rules. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #4 The Scud does have a rudimentary control system. It its launched from a vertical position, so it needs _something_ to point it in the right direction and at the correct angle of attack. The V-2 (which the Scud is largely based on) had something similar. It's basically a gyro-compass and a very simple analog computer if I remember my History Channel documentaries correctly. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2002-12-03 09:19:18 |
| #3 "Control systems" for Scuds. It's that long stick thingy that lays along the outside of a bottle rocket. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2002-12-03 08:28:12 |
| #2 Those diabolical Americans!! Using bombs that destroy (some) equipment, while leaving the building completely intact! It's a plot to discredit honest Arabs. |
| Posted by: Porphyrogenitus 2002-12-02 22:21:46 |
| #1 "Control systems" for Scuds? I thought those suckers were SUPPOSED to be unguided missiles. I think this explains why they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. We should count our blessings: the North Korean missile control systems prolly work as advertised. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2002-12-02 15:46:57 |