BELGRADE, Jun 12 (IPS) - Weapons from the Balkans wars of the 1990s are beginning to arm conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, well-placed officials have revealed.
A vital element of the Dayton Peace Agreements that ended the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995 was the destruction of huge caches of heavy weapons, artillery, small arms and ammunition.
The 39,000-strong Stabilisation Forces led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) until December 2004, followed by the 6,300 European Union Forces (EUFOR) sought to re-establish peace and ensure security. And this meant destruction of remaining weapons.
But these weapons have headed in other directions. Bosnian daily Nezavisne Novine and Croatian daily Vecernji List have quoted a former Austrian member of EUFOR, identified as "Major Erwin K" as saying that under United States pressure stockpiled arms and ammunition were ordered sold to Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11.
At least 290,000 rifles were sold to private firms, mostly based in the United States. The guns were finally meant to be supplied to "local security forces" in Afghanistan and Iraq, the military source was quoted as saying.
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Moscow Releases Nuclear Fuel for Iran's Bushehr Reactor
June 12, 2007, 1:12 PM (GMT+02:00)
Iran's Bushehr atomic reactor can start rolling with Russian fuel
DEBKA-Net-Weekly 304 disclosed on June 8 that the week before the G8 opened in Germany, Moscow released the long-withheld nuclear fuel for Iran's atomic reactor in Bushehr. It was delivered 24 hours before Israel launched its new military imaging satellite Ofeq-7, bringing forward the Iranian threat to Israel, according to DEBKAfile's military sources. One immediate result has been the stiffening of Tehran's negative posture, sparking what nuclear watchdog director Mohammed ElBaradei called Monday, June 11, a confrontation that needs to be urgently defused.
As DEBKA-Net-Weekly reported, special nuclear containers were loaded on a train in the yard of the manufacturers JSC Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant on June 2-3. They contained two types of nuclear fuel, WER-440 and WER-1000.
The special train then headed out of Novosibirsk to Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea, 2,000 km away. There, the containers awaited loading aboard a Russian ship destined for Bandar Anzili, the Iranian military port on the Caspian shore. According to our Iranian sources, a fleet of Iranian trucks was waiting at the other end outside Bandar Anzili port to transport the nuclear fuel and drive it slowly and carefully to Bushehr, a distance of 850km, arriving June 10 or 11.
But DEBKAfile's sources added the journey was interrupted by holdups ordered by the Kremlin in an episode which also laid bare the interdependence of Iran's nuclear industry and Tehran's program for arming Syria for war with Israel with the latest Russian munitions.
A few days before the nuclear fuel left the Siberian factory, Tehran delivered the sum of $327m for a fresh delivery of Russian missiles to Syria. Iran pledged another $438m for further arms consignments before the fuel cargo was allowed to go forward. Putin then ordered the cargo to be loaded at Astrakhan, but await delivery in port until payment was made.
DEBKAfile picks up the story Tuesday, June 12, and reports that Iran duly deposited the money and the ship was permitted to set sail and cross the Caspian Sea to Iran.
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1281
http://tinyurl.com/35ey9z
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06.02.07, 19:05 - Israel
A Muslim extremist group threatened to behead female TV broadcasters if they don't don strict Islamic dress, leaving the women terrified and marking a further downward spiral in Gaza's anarchy.
The threat to "cut throats from vein to vein" was delivered by the Swords of Truth, a fanatical group that has previously claimed responsibility for bombing Internet cafes and music shops. The new threat was the first time the organization targeted a specific group of people, and adds to a growing climate of extremism, fear and suspicion in Gaza.
http://off-topic.internet-haganah.com/
http://tinyurl.com/2npaz4
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A British company has been closed down after being caught in an apparent attempt to sell black-market weapons-grade uranium to Iran and Sudan, The Observer can reveal.
Anti-terrorist officers and MI6 are now investigating a wider British-based plot allegedly to supply Iran with material for use in a nuclear weapons programme. One person has already been charged with attempting to proliferate 'weapons of mass destruction'.
During the 20-month investigation, which also involved MI5 and Customs and Excise, a group of Britons was tracked as they obtained weapons-grade uranium from the black market in Russia. Investigators believe it was intended for export to Sudan and on to Iran.
A number of Britons, who are understood to have links with Islamic terrorists abroad, remain under surveillance. Investigators believe they have uncovered the first proof that al-Qaeda supporters have been actively engaged in developing an atomic capability. The British company, whose identity is known to The Observer but cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, has been wound up.
A Customs and Excise spokesman said: 'We continue to investigate allegations related to the supply of components for nuclear programmes including related activities of British nationals.'
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,330001671-102285,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/3b6y9k
Labels: gaza, IRAN, nukes, reactor, russia
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