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| Iraq | |
| French bombs in Baghdad | |
| 2003-10-27 | |
A BAGHDAD hotel where US defence chief Paul Wolfowitz was staying was yesterday blitzed by rockets made in FRANCE. Half of the missiles fired were modern French weapons, said experts — produced after the arms embargo imposed on Iraq following the first Gulf War. The French government has furiously denied turning a blind eye to illegal weapon supplies, despite the recent discovery in Iraq of military hardware apparently built there.
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| Posted by:Karma |
| #11 Anyone wanna bet these French missiles came from Syria? |
| Posted by: NotMikeMoore 2003-10-27 11:38:04 PM |
| #10 Damn--now I bet General Dynamics is going to up their prices when they see this |
| Posted by: NotMikeMoore 2003-10-27 11:36:54 PM |
| #9 They French were assured that the missiles were only to be used for peaceful purposes. "Monsieur Saddam, we believe you when you say that." |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-27 11:19:33 PM |
| #8 They French were assured that the missiles were only to be used for peaceful purposes. The Russians didn't know that any missles had been sold and can't find any documentation regarding the missiles manufacture. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-10-27 4:55:08 PM |
| #7 The 11 were on strike |
| Posted by: Braniac 2003-10-27 4:09:57 PM |
| #6 Dan is right! we should be grateful that they use Frog weapons! It is in our own best interests! |
| Posted by: Greg 2003-10-27 12:56:22 PM |
| #5 John, here's your source: Altogether, the launcher held 40 missile pods, said Brig. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander of the First Armored Division, whose responsibility is the security of Baghdad. General Dempsey spoke Sunday evening at a news conference held in a building in a compound near the Rashid Hotel. Half the missiles were 68-millimeter, which have a range of two to three miles; the other half were 85-millimeter, with a three- to four-mile range, he said. The smaller ones were French-made, and designed for use by helicopters. The others were Russian. The French rockets, officers said, were quite new, and were probably purchased after the arms embargo was in place. ``They were in pristine condition,'' said one military officer who inspected the rocket tubes and assembly. Mr. Hussein had weapons of that type, but General Dempsey said he did not know if the missiles used the hotel attack came from Mr. Hussein's arsenal. General Dempsey described the device as ``clever, but not sophisticated.'' He called it ``a science project in a garage with a welder and a battery and a handful of wires.'' |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-10-27 12:16:30 PM |
| #4 This is pretty completely unsourced. The "experts" aren't named, or identified in any way. Color me unconvinced. |
| Posted by: john bragg 2003-10-27 11:48:30 AM |
| #3 now i know why 11 didn't ignite - their french |
| Posted by: Dan 2003-10-27 10:55:32 AM |
| #2 When will ChIrak get diselected so that he can be tried!? |
| Posted by: Atrus 2003-10-27 10:52:03 AM |
| #1 Sacre Blow! |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2003-10-27 9:34:10 AM |