Disturbing! "IEDs Blamed For Killing US Forces In Iraq By Iran-"IN FACT OF AMERICAN ORIGIN"

[kpete]

Federal Action Against Iranian Global Procurement Network Suggests That Deadly Iraq IED Components of US Origin

Today, the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that, in cooperation with the US attorney in Miami and other federal agencies, it had broken up an Iranian global procurement network used to illegally acquire US-origin dual use and military components. "This extensive, effective government effort has broken up a lethal international ring seeking to harm American and allied forces as well as innocent civilians by acquiring sensitive U.S. technology capable of producing improvised explosive devices (IED) similar to those being used in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Commerce Under Secretary Mario Mancuso.

A corresponding Justice Department press release today announced the unsealing of a 13-count indictment "charging eight individuals and eight corporations in connection with their participation in conspiracies to export U.S.-manufactured commodities to prohibited entities and to Iran. ... The defendants are charged with purchasing and causing the export of U.S. goods to Iran through middle countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, England, Germany, and Singapore." None of the eight defendants reside in the U.S.

The announcements were forwarded by a Washington trade lawyer, aware of my interest in the issue. A couple months ago I reported on a curious phenomenon: why was so much US sensitive military equipment and technology ending up in Iran, the subject of extensive US sanctions? One major soft underbelly of US efforts to restrict the sale of US military equipment to Iran turns out to be the United Arab Emirates, where both the US and Iran have extensive trade ties. In my report, I cited a former Commerce Department official who noted:

"The rhetoric from Commerce…is all about national security ... US bureaucrats don't want to find their names in press for not enforcing when a US soldier is killed (in Iraq) by US technology that was exported to Iran through UAE. So, the rhetoric is very tough for UAE enforcement. On the other hand, we desperately want the oil dollars…So, mixed messages galore."
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/07/the-persian-paradox.html

The scenario the former Commerce Department official suggested in passing was disturbing. Were some of the components in the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) blamed for killing US forces in Iraq - that the US military alleged were being supplied to Shiite militants in Iraq by Iran - in fact of American origin? Is that why the US military has repeatedly indicated it would display the evidence of the Iranian origin of some of these weapons, and then halted the full presentation?

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/09/9774_pls_dot_post_ye.html

[druidity33]

1. yikes... k+r

[DS1]

2. What kind of stupid shithead would sell arms to the UAE in the first place?

Goddamn this place sucks.

[Supersedeas]

3. Defense Contractors will not be denied their money money money money money from

both sides -- war is good for bidness, ya know.

[leveymg]

4. Iraq has all the materials they need to make IEDs. No need to import components from anywhere.

Consider this about notorious Explosively Formed Projectiles (EFP), touted as the most deadly sort of IED to armoured vehicles:

EFPs don't require any sophisticated tools to produce, and are made in large numbers inside Iraq.
Posted by leveymg in Latest Breaking News
Mon Feb 04th 2008, 10:48 AM

As you can see from Image 1), below, an Explosively Formed Projectile (EFP) is nothing more than a steel pipe packed with high explosive, into which a hand beaten or spun copper disc is pressed. All these materials and the tools needed to make them are widely available in Iraq. A couple little tabs are welded onto a flange over the end of copper plate to allow the explosive charge to build up sufficient pressure;

2) The explosion melts the copper which forms into a semi-teardrop shape as flies as a projectile toward a nearby target. 3) The heat and mass of the molten metal combined with its velocity penetrates even the thickest armor.

Not very sophisticated or hard to fabricate. Any automotive repair shop or oil field machine shack has all the tools one needs to manufacture EFPs. They aren't difficult to design, build or use - the knowledge to make effective EFPs is widely disseminated throughout the Middle East. There is no reason to conclude that these things are made in Iran.

1)


2)

3)

Also, see, discussion thread at: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x257974.

[AndyTiedye]

5. That's Why They're Called IEDs. The "I" Stands for "Improvised"

Most of them are made from the explosives that our forces left unguarded in their rush to the Oil. :wtf:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02EEDE1E3DF933A0575AC0A9659C8B63

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.cfm/Page/Article/ID/2329