Three cheers for Sen. Kit Bond
France, Russia, Germany, Jordan, and Turkey—among the nations suspected of illegally selling arms to Saddam Hussein—could be barred from lucrative construction projects in Iraq if U.S. forces find that they sold weapons to Baghdad after the 1991 United Nations arms embargo. New legislation pushed by Missouri Sen. Kit Bond would for the first time require Pentagon and CIA intelligence officials to publicly out sanction violators. Once identified, the countries would be targeted by new legislation to ban them from the reconstruction effort. "Sunshine," says a Senate source, "is the best disinfectant." But how can post-1991 sales be proved? Through operation "Chuckwagon," according to declassified documents provided to Whispers. That's the CIA-Defense Intelligence Agency program to find and date Iraqi arms. Insiders say Chuckwagon has found year-old French Roland missiles and new Russian GPS equipment. Jordan, we're told, appears to be the worst violator, even filling Saddam's son Uday's private arsenal with "presentation arms" complete with ceremonial plaques. |