WP: U.S. Plans New Tool to Halt Spread Of Weapons

[kskiska]

Measure to Target Assets of Anyone Tied to Suspect Firms

Monday, June 27, 2005; A01

The Bush administration is planning new measures that would target the U.S. assets of anyone conducting business with a handful of Iranian, North Korean and Syrian companies believed by Washington to be involved in weapons programs, administration officials said yesterday.

The latest action is outlined in a draft executive order administration officials are hoping President Bush will sign before attending the Group of Eight summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, on July 2. Officials who agreed to discuss the details only on the condition of anonymity said the order's success would rely heavily on U.S. intelligence and that it is modeled in part on measures the government took against al Qaeda's finances shortly after the terrorist strikes of Sept. 11, 2001.

According to an internal government memo, it would provide a new tool in the efforts to stop trafficking in weapons of mass destruction "by authorizing the blocking or 'freezing' of assets of WMD proliferators and their supporters, and thereby prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with them."

The effort would begin by targeting just eight entities, seven of which are suspected of working on missile programs, and not on chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. According to a government list obtained by The Washington Post, three companies identified are North Korean; four are Iranian, including the country's energy department; and one is a Syrian government research facility. Three of the eight companies have been targeted previously by U.S. sanctions as have most Iranian government agencies. None is subject to any international sanctions, and the entities freely conduct business with companies around the world.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/26/AR2005062601336.html

[Oversea Visitor]

1. Yawn

Go bugger yourself

[Tempest]

2. Did you notice how Bush left out Pakistan?

Pakistan is the biggest violator.

[Dover]

3. What? They're going to stop selling them?

Saddam and all the other 'terrorists' will be so disappointed.

[burrowowl]

4. Bu$h$hit!

And Pappy and Carlyle and all the weapons manufacturers in the U$ of A, who have arms to sell but can't manufacture enough bullets for our military but probably can for mercenaries.

[maddezmom]

5. would that include Halliburton and Bechtel?

becuase IIRC they do business with Iran...:shrug:

[leesa]

6. Rubbing out the competition. We supply most of the weapons in the

world.

[Toots]

7. Hey...The US controls the Arms market so stay away from our turf

We are the ones who market in death and we will have no others cutting into our racket.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

8. They ought to have the Carlysle Group at the top of that list, along....

...with the US.

Another hypocritical NeoCon pile of dung.

[sidpleasant]

9. Note the fine print: "prohibiting U.S. persons"

That phrasing wasn't by accident. Poppy "I left my gunner to die when I bailed out" Bush and the Carlyle Group will just use one of their offshore subsidiaries to sell to Iran and North Korea, like Dick Cheney and Halliburton tried to do when Halliburton set up a European front company to violate the Iraq sanctions in the '90s. Fortunately the Clinton administration stopped Cheney from selling Hussein parts to rebuild an oil pumping station that the US military had destroyed in the Gulf War.