I hadn't heard this. I wonder if this will turn out to be legit or bogus like the story that the French were helping Iraqi leadership escape the country. I can't wait to read more about this one
The story is legit. Not sure whether they came from France or Germany, but my bet would be France. The serial numbers dated them to 2003.
What was I saying about France being a enemy of the U.S.? No wonder they were opposed to the war, they were getting some arms money on the side, likely at jacked up prices.
Been talking to your "sources" again? http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm.../20031004/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_french_missiles
I'm surprised the White House hasn't identified your talents and brought you in to assist them with evaluating intelligence info.
It really is amazing how incredibly often this happens. It's almost like someone's just messing with us.
I guess a Polish joke would be appropriate now that the truth is out about their so called find, but I'm all out.
People really dig anything the propaganda machines brew. This blunder ranks up there beside the Quran 9.11 "Eagle's wrath" verse. LOL. BTW, those so called missles were immediately destroyed after their discovery. Something doesn't smell good when the accuser hurries up to destroy evidence. Sounds like a cheap shot from America's Iraqi follower, Poland.
Yeah what was it you were saying about the French being an enemy to the U.S.? No wonder they were opposed to the war. They didn't want our allies in there claiming they were supplying Iraq when it wasn't true at all.
I am not the one to point fingers unless I see it. However I do doubt alot of our reporting because through all of this, they have not once named the supplier of Iraq's nerve agents and so-called WMD. Late 70's/ early to mid 80's alot of that stuff came from us-U.S. Yes it would be in our best interest to make allegations like that towards the french. If those were american built rockets do you think we'd be hearing about that on the news? Just something to think about. And before I get any flames although I didnt vote for our president, since that he is, I did stand behind him and give him the benefit of the doubt. Be here lately it seems more and more like the public isnt getting the truth from our Government (wether it be democratic or republican). It makes it hard for me to believe any of these cats, including the news, when 8 times out of 10 they have been feeding us bullsh*t anyway.. Take allegations with a grain of salt.
A report that the Poles have withdrawn their claim. ********** Poland: French Missile Report Was Wrong Saturday October 4, 2003 8:16 PM By BEATA PASEK Associated Press Writer WARSAW, Poland (AP) - After a protest from French President Jacques Chirac, Poland said Saturday it had been mistaken in reporting that its troops found new French-made anti-aircraft misiles in central Iraq. Chirac swiftly denied selling Iraq weapons in violation of the U.N. weapons embargo imposed against Saddam Hussein's regime in 1990. The claims, he said, ``are as false today as they were yesterday.'' An aide to the Polish prime minister said an initial report that the Roland missiles found by Polish troops days ago were produced in 2003 was incorrect. France said it stopped producing any type of Roland missile in 1993. Prime Minister Leszek Miller met with Chirac twice to explain the mistake, said the aide, Tadeusz Iwinski. The two leaders were in Rome on Saturday for a European Union summit. ``There can be no 2003 missiles since these missiles have not been made for 15 years,'' Chirac told reporters in Rome. ``Polish soldiers confused things. I told ... Miller so frankly - friendly but firmly.'' France used similar arguments to rebut allegations in April that recently made Roland missiles have been found in Iraq. The report first came in a statement by a ministry spokesman to Polish state television that the troops uncovered French-made Roland missiles in the town of Hilla, in the zone of central Iraq where the Poles lead a peacekeeping force. A ministry statement said the missiles were destroyed on Wednesday. Maj. Andrzej Wiatrowski, a spokesman in Iraq for the Polish-led force, said pictures of the missiles taken before they were destroyed might clear up when they were made. ``That's the job for our superiors. Our job is to recover and destroy dangerous material,'' Wiatrowski said by satellite phone. Iwinski said the matter has been settled. ``It was wrongly said that the rockets were produced in that year,'' Iwinski said by telephone from the summit. ``President Chirac has accepted Prime Minister Leszek Miller's explanation.'' The Polish defense minister, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, ``expressed his regrets'' for the mistake, a ministry statement said. France long had close ties to Iraq that included lucrative weapons deals. Paris supplied arms, in exchange for oil, during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. In June, an Associated Press reporter traveling with the 3rd Infantry Division found two Roland 2 missile launchers in excellent condition on Habaniyah airfield, 45 miles west of Baghdad. Each launcher had four missiles mounted on it, but both launchers had been flipped onto their sides, apparently in an effort to unload the flatbed trucks on which they were mounted. At the time, U.S. Army officers said dozens of such missiles had been found on military bases across Iraq and all were believed to have been delivered before July 1990. The French Foreign Ministry emphasized on Saturday that France has not authorized the sale of weapons, or even spare parts, to Iraq since July 1990, when the United Nations imposed sanctions on weapons sales following Saddam's invasion of Kuwait. The ministry statement said Roland 1 missiles and launchers were exported to Iraq in 1980-81, while Roland 2 missiles were exported from 1983 to 1986. France stopped making Roland 2s in 1988 and Roland 3s in 1993, it said. France used similar arguments to rebut allegations in april that recently made Roland missiles have been found in iraq. The Polish Defense Ministry said the Roland missiles were among about a dozen missiles uncovered near Hilla on Tuesday, including Soviet-made Malutka, French Hot and French-German Milan missiles. The Roland missiles are about 25 feet long, radar-guided and launched from the back of a truck. The U.S. military found 35 Roland missiles when it captured Baghdad International Airport in April. Roland missiles also were found when Australian troops captured an airfield in western Iraq. The Web site GlobalSecurity.org says the Roland weapon system is intended for anti-aircraft defense of armored and mechanized the units to counter aircraft flying to nearly at 1 times the speed of sound or hovering helicopters. link
Oh please. Everyone reported the same thing at first - that the serial numbers read a 2003 date. Blame the fu&king Poles, not me. They're the ones who read the serial numbers wrong. I remind you that the missiles were still of French manufacture. Along with the Milans and HOTs. No telling how old they are. Incidentally, virtually every piece of equipment that Iraq has used against us over the past decade has been French, Russian, or Chinese in manufacture. They are not innocent here, and it is well known that at the very least the Russians and Chinese have broken the sanctions to resupply Saddam's military. A 2003 French deal would not be surprising at all, as they are whores and Saddam paid cash. And my "sources" on that one were a number of news organizations. They're much faster (and usually more prone to reporting bunk stories) than other "sources". No Worries - Why do you keep mentioning that little proof positive? It's like me saying "Anthrax". You know, in reference to the anthrax attacks that I was dead wrong about? Incidentally, you're never going to live up to your end of the bet, are you? u851662: Well, you can make your own friggen nerve gas. It's just strong pesticide. They didn't get it from anywhere, they just made it. You can get the base components for it anywhere. What they got from us was an anthrax sample from an organization (non-governmental) that specialized in supplying toxins and cultures for medical and academic research. Unfortunately, perfectly legal at the time. The rest of their BW crap they either scrounged up themselves or had Soviet help with.
Obviously, I was wrong. Big deal - I am not always right, and I am the first to admit it. I made the mistake of thinking that because every media outlet was reporting it, that it was probably correct. I should have known better, should have waited for confirmation. My bad. I must say, though, that I am puzzled by how you guys seem to be dancing a jig over me being wrong. (Partially wrong, that is). You know, I still have a pretty good track record, and the gloating coming from you guys in particular is in poor taste - if I got excited every time each and every one of you guys proved to be wrong... I'd never leave the house. Whatever, gloat all you want. Enjoy it. I'm just waiting for Mr. Kay... Then I'll probably do a little jig too.
