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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran 'obtained German guidance gear for drones' |
| 2006-08-23 |
| Iran has obtained German guidance gear for its drones, a prosecutor disclosed in Dusseldorf Monday, just hours after the revelation that Britain had supplied night-vision equipment to Iran which ended up in the hands of Hezbollah fighters. Johannes Mocken, the prosecutor in Dusseldorf, said Tehran had obtained the global positioning systems (GPS) through Iranian merchants living in Germany. The delivery was first reported by a German television current-affairs programme, Fakt, which said seven German-made systems were exported but German authorities managed to stop three more. The systems use signals from satellites to help fly unmanned aircraft. Hezbollah deployed several drones of unknown origin in its recent month of fighting with Israel. "We have to assume that the persons under investigation either knew perfectly well or knowingly made no effort to prevent these GPS systems reaching Iran's military drone programme," Mocken said. Fakt quoted sources saying Hezbollah had deployed the drones against Israel and might deploy them against German Navy ships that are likely to be sent to the Lebanese coast if a peacekeeping mission is approved. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #8 It amy not be the government that is driving this but the businesses. I don't know if Germany has the same export license requirements as the US. My guess is probably not. But from the news chatter I've heard since the UK night vision goggles issue surfaced the EU countries do tend to have non-tranfer end user agreements. Which, surprise surprise, Iran totally ignores. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2006-08-23 14:01 |
| #7 True. But on the other hand, there seems to be a pattern of a LOT of interdicted military and nuclear equipment and knowhow that the German government seems never to intercept on time. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-08-23 10:40 |
| #6 “…through Iranian merchants living in Germany.” I’m confused by the comments here regarding this article. It doesn’t appear that the German government was in any way complicit in this tech/arms transfer. I could be wrong but this sounds to me like the work of private arms merchants or the Black market. The fact is there are arms manufactured from many countries that end up in the hands of criminals and terrorists. That doesn’t necessarily indicate that the countries of origin support the transfer or the recipient’s activities. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2006-08-23 09:57 |
| #5 |
| Posted by: Snease Shaiting3550 2006-08-23 05:10 |
| #4 It CAN'T be true! No company is that self-centered, short-sighted, ignorant, cowardly, and stupid all at the same time! |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-08-23 02:47 |
| #3 "might deploy them against German Navy ships that are likely to be sent to the Lebanese coast if a peacekeeping mission is approved" From his lips to Don't even start protesting - I'm sick of this shit. Anything for the almighty Euro as long as it's just the Jooooos and the Ami's getting hurt. Time for this crap to bite them in the ass. Hard. It's just too bad these clowns won't be the ones bitten. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-08-23 01:20 |
| #2 So, I spent four years protecting them from the Fulda gap and they repay me by becoming techo traitors? WAKE UP NOW, Germany. This is YOUR SIN that you are aiding. You will not be forgiven for the same SIN twice. Heil Islam? How bout dem centerfuges you sold to saddam? or the night flights - yah, you know. It takes two more acts for me to get REALLY ANGRY with you. And you know how angry 6,000,000 JEWISH ANGELS and GOD can get. |
| Posted by: newc 2006-08-23 00:42 |
| #1 Blood boils |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-08-23 00:23 |