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DER SPIEGEL: U.S. FINDS EVIDENCE OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SARGSYAN DEALING ARMS TO IRAN
Today
http://www.today.az/news/regions/77819.html
Dec 7 2010
Azerbaijan
It's not difficult for the wrong people to get their hands on
powerful weapons. The US, however, expends great effort in making
it more difficult. Recently released diplomatic dispatches show that
Washington is particularly vigilant when it comes to Bulgaria, Ukraine
and Russia. It often takes some time before politicians must atone for
their past sins. But when you bear partial responsibility for killing
or wounding American soldiers -- like Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
-- it's almost certain that you will eventually be taken to task.
In the fall of 2008, then-US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
requested her diplomats to press Sargsyan on weapons transfers, as the
US dispatches recently released by WikiLeaks show. Five years earlier,
Armenia had purchased 1,000 anti-tank rockets and 260 heavy machine
guns from Bulgaria. At the time, Sargsyan was Armenia's defense
minister, and he gave a personal guarantee to the Bulgarians that
the weapons would stay in the country.
In reality, however, according to American findings, the weapons
shipment went straight to Iran before finding its way to Shiite
insurgents in Iraq. The Americans have found that one US soldier was
killed with a weapon from the Sargsyan deal and that at least 10 other
soldiers have been wounded with the weapons. The true total is likely
much higher: US troops continue to find equipment from the Armenian
shipment during raids in Iraq.
The longer the United States fights wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and
the more American or allied soldiers die, the more focused Washington
acts to counter the global trade in conventional firearms, including
assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. The weapons
often make their way via Iran, Syria or Yemen to war zones and crisis
regions across the world. For countries from the former Soviet Union,
in particular, which have significant stockpiles of weapons, this
has become a lucrative business.
Documenting the Details
American intelligence sources have been able to document almost
all of the details concerning the Armenian weapons deal. They know
that the RPG-22 anti-tank rockets were manufactured in the Vazovski
Mashinostroitelni Zavodi factory, and that the machine guns were
made by the Bulgarian weapons manufacturer Arsenal. According to the
Americans' sources, the weapons were initially flown into Armenia
before being immediately forwarded to Iran. Likewise, according to
American diplomatic documents, the deal was transacted between the
partially government-owned company Zao Veber and Abbas Abdi Asjerd,
an Iranian arms dealer. The weapons were allegedly paid for by the
Iranian government, but the money trail was camouflaged by having it
go through an Armenian bank.
The deal was only made possible because Sargsyan had given the
Bulgarians a written guarantee that the weapons would remain in
Armenia. "Such cooperation with Iran, a known state sponsor of
terrorism and supplier of arms to terrorist groups and other non-state
actors, is unacceptable," Rice complained in a dispatch dated Sept.
12, 2008 and sent to the US Embassy in Yerevan, the Armenian capital.
She then instructed an American diplomat to pressure President
Sargsyan and threaten Armenia with massive sanctions should such
a deal be repeated. Since Armenia is highly dependant on US aid,
punishing Sargsyan would not have been difficult.
Soon thereafter, the ambassador reported back that President Sargsyan
and his principle adviser had tried to deflect responsibility. But
US diplomats presented them with the evidence. In the end, Sargsyan
agreed to stricter export controls, which the Americans pressed him
to introduce as soon as possible.
Russian Cynicism
Somewhat less successful were the talks that then-US Ambassador to
Russia William Burns had with officials in Moscow. In October 2007,
Burns complained that -- even after 22 meetings -- then-Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov remained uninterested in reducing his country's
significant arms shipments.
In one communique, Burns wrote that the Russians had a "deeply
cynical" stance to American efforts. The Russians viewed arms deals as
diplomatic door-openers, he continued, as a source of money for corrupt
officials and as a way to slightly disrupt American foreign-policy
efforts. One high-ranking official in Moscow even reportedly told
him that: "Russia makes very bad cars, but very good weapons."
Ukraine, though, is particularly high on America's list of global arms
traders. Kiev delivers tanks, RPGs, rocket launchers, machine guns and
even missile technology to almost all of the world's crisis regions.
Ukraine, for example, sent armored personnel carriers, anti-tank
missiles and heavy machine guns to Myanmar in August 2009, according
to the US. Ukraine denies the charge. The US also believes Kiev sold
armored vehicles and transport aircraft worth more than $500 million
to Iraq.
At the same time though, US diplomats repeatedly complained, Ukraine
regularly asks Washington for help financing the destruction of
their enormous arsenal of weapons of mass destruction left over from
Soviet times. Ukraine, for example, wanted $250,000 for the ecological
disposal of each rocket engine -- and an additional $15,000 for the
destruction of each missile.
Part 2: The Ever-Watchful Americans
Another major player on the illegal weapons market is Yemen. The
US believes that arms dealers such as Ibrahim Abu Haith, a member
of the Rashaida tribe, have their own ships that they use to supply
arms to Al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia, to Sudan and to Hamas in
the Palestinian territories.
In the summer of 2009, the State Department sent its ambassador in
Sanaa, Yemen's capital, to sound out the possibilty of using unmanned
drones and helicopters to monitor smuggling routes, such as the Red
Sea. But, as the ambassador wrote back to Washington soon thereafter,
the Yemeni government expressed "discomfort" with allowing American
aircraft to monitor its territory.
Out-Maneuvering the Competition
On Dec. 7, 2009, a meeting took place in Sanaa that shows just the
kind of machinations the weapons business involves. The Bulgarian
Embassy there discretely informed then-US Ambassador to Yemen Stephen
Seche that Yemen had signed a contract with a company in Cyprus in
October of that year. The contract allegedly involved a shipment of
sniper rifles, ammunition, artillery shells, anti-aircraft guns and
howitzers for just under $100 million ([email protected] million). According to
the Bulgarians, though, the company was just serving as a front for
the Serbian arms trafficker Slobodan Tesic, who was being sought on
an international arrest warrant for making illegal arms shipments,
including to terrorists. The Bulgarians asked if America could help
block the deal.
Eager to put Tesic out of business, the Americans took action. At
first, it appeared as if the American intervention had been successful:
On December 27, Yemen's Deputy Finance Minister Jalal Yaqoub notified
the Americans that the Tesic deal had been blocked.
But, the next day, the Bulgarians subtly informed the Americans that
the deal was still secretly on and that Yemen's defense minister
in Sanaa had just instructed the country's central bank to wire $97
million to the company in Cyprus.
The Bulgarians, though, had a selfish motive. They wanted to sell
Yemen 20,000 assault rifles as well as RPGs and ammunition worth a
total of $55 million ([email protected] million). They asked American diplomats
for sympathy because "the difficult economic situation made the offer
extremely attractive to domestic arms producers."
Ever-Watchful with Allies
Even extremely small arm shipments do not escape the notice of watchful
US eyes. In September 2008, for example, German authorities reportedly
blocked a shipment of 40 TPG-1 model sniper rifles from the Bavarian
company Unique Alpine from being shipped to Iran via France.
The Germans prevaricated. Although sales of military hardware must
be approved, one official from the Ministry of Economics in Berlin
explained to the Americans, the sniper rifles were not military
hardware because they could also be used for sport.
But the Americans did not agree. They pointed out to the Germans that
on the Unique Alpine website, it said the TPG-1 rifle was a "tactical
precision weapon of the newest generation" designed for use as a
"highly integrated weapons system ... for the professional user." The
US wanted the shipment blocked, and the Germans finally relented.
From: A. Papazian
Today
http://www.today.az/news/regions/77819.html
Dec 7 2010
Azerbaijan
It's not difficult for the wrong people to get their hands on
powerful weapons. The US, however, expends great effort in making
it more difficult. Recently released diplomatic dispatches show that
Washington is particularly vigilant when it comes to Bulgaria, Ukraine
and Russia. It often takes some time before politicians must atone for
their past sins. But when you bear partial responsibility for killing
or wounding American soldiers -- like Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
-- it's almost certain that you will eventually be taken to task.
In the fall of 2008, then-US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
requested her diplomats to press Sargsyan on weapons transfers, as the
US dispatches recently released by WikiLeaks show. Five years earlier,
Armenia had purchased 1,000 anti-tank rockets and 260 heavy machine
guns from Bulgaria. At the time, Sargsyan was Armenia's defense
minister, and he gave a personal guarantee to the Bulgarians that
the weapons would stay in the country.
In reality, however, according to American findings, the weapons
shipment went straight to Iran before finding its way to Shiite
insurgents in Iraq. The Americans have found that one US soldier was
killed with a weapon from the Sargsyan deal and that at least 10 other
soldiers have been wounded with the weapons. The true total is likely
much higher: US troops continue to find equipment from the Armenian
shipment during raids in Iraq.
The longer the United States fights wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and
the more American or allied soldiers die, the more focused Washington
acts to counter the global trade in conventional firearms, including
assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. The weapons
often make their way via Iran, Syria or Yemen to war zones and crisis
regions across the world. For countries from the former Soviet Union,
in particular, which have significant stockpiles of weapons, this
has become a lucrative business.
Documenting the Details
American intelligence sources have been able to document almost
all of the details concerning the Armenian weapons deal. They know
that the RPG-22 anti-tank rockets were manufactured in the Vazovski
Mashinostroitelni Zavodi factory, and that the machine guns were
made by the Bulgarian weapons manufacturer Arsenal. According to the
Americans' sources, the weapons were initially flown into Armenia
before being immediately forwarded to Iran. Likewise, according to
American diplomatic documents, the deal was transacted between the
partially government-owned company Zao Veber and Abbas Abdi Asjerd,
an Iranian arms dealer. The weapons were allegedly paid for by the
Iranian government, but the money trail was camouflaged by having it
go through an Armenian bank.
The deal was only made possible because Sargsyan had given the
Bulgarians a written guarantee that the weapons would remain in
Armenia. "Such cooperation with Iran, a known state sponsor of
terrorism and supplier of arms to terrorist groups and other non-state
actors, is unacceptable," Rice complained in a dispatch dated Sept.
12, 2008 and sent to the US Embassy in Yerevan, the Armenian capital.
She then instructed an American diplomat to pressure President
Sargsyan and threaten Armenia with massive sanctions should such
a deal be repeated. Since Armenia is highly dependant on US aid,
punishing Sargsyan would not have been difficult.
Soon thereafter, the ambassador reported back that President Sargsyan
and his principle adviser had tried to deflect responsibility. But
US diplomats presented them with the evidence. In the end, Sargsyan
agreed to stricter export controls, which the Americans pressed him
to introduce as soon as possible.
Russian Cynicism
Somewhat less successful were the talks that then-US Ambassador to
Russia William Burns had with officials in Moscow. In October 2007,
Burns complained that -- even after 22 meetings -- then-Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov remained uninterested in reducing his country's
significant arms shipments.
In one communique, Burns wrote that the Russians had a "deeply
cynical" stance to American efforts. The Russians viewed arms deals as
diplomatic door-openers, he continued, as a source of money for corrupt
officials and as a way to slightly disrupt American foreign-policy
efforts. One high-ranking official in Moscow even reportedly told
him that: "Russia makes very bad cars, but very good weapons."
Ukraine, though, is particularly high on America's list of global arms
traders. Kiev delivers tanks, RPGs, rocket launchers, machine guns and
even missile technology to almost all of the world's crisis regions.
Ukraine, for example, sent armored personnel carriers, anti-tank
missiles and heavy machine guns to Myanmar in August 2009, according
to the US. Ukraine denies the charge. The US also believes Kiev sold
armored vehicles and transport aircraft worth more than $500 million
to Iraq.
At the same time though, US diplomats repeatedly complained, Ukraine
regularly asks Washington for help financing the destruction of
their enormous arsenal of weapons of mass destruction left over from
Soviet times. Ukraine, for example, wanted $250,000 for the ecological
disposal of each rocket engine -- and an additional $15,000 for the
destruction of each missile.
Part 2: The Ever-Watchful Americans
Another major player on the illegal weapons market is Yemen. The
US believes that arms dealers such as Ibrahim Abu Haith, a member
of the Rashaida tribe, have their own ships that they use to supply
arms to Al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia, to Sudan and to Hamas in
the Palestinian territories.
In the summer of 2009, the State Department sent its ambassador in
Sanaa, Yemen's capital, to sound out the possibilty of using unmanned
drones and helicopters to monitor smuggling routes, such as the Red
Sea. But, as the ambassador wrote back to Washington soon thereafter,
the Yemeni government expressed "discomfort" with allowing American
aircraft to monitor its territory.
Out-Maneuvering the Competition
On Dec. 7, 2009, a meeting took place in Sanaa that shows just the
kind of machinations the weapons business involves. The Bulgarian
Embassy there discretely informed then-US Ambassador to Yemen Stephen
Seche that Yemen had signed a contract with a company in Cyprus in
October of that year. The contract allegedly involved a shipment of
sniper rifles, ammunition, artillery shells, anti-aircraft guns and
howitzers for just under $100 million ([email protected] million). According to
the Bulgarians, though, the company was just serving as a front for
the Serbian arms trafficker Slobodan Tesic, who was being sought on
an international arrest warrant for making illegal arms shipments,
including to terrorists. The Bulgarians asked if America could help
block the deal.
Eager to put Tesic out of business, the Americans took action. At
first, it appeared as if the American intervention had been successful:
On December 27, Yemen's Deputy Finance Minister Jalal Yaqoub notified
the Americans that the Tesic deal had been blocked.
But, the next day, the Bulgarians subtly informed the Americans that
the deal was still secretly on and that Yemen's defense minister
in Sanaa had just instructed the country's central bank to wire $97
million to the company in Cyprus.
The Bulgarians, though, had a selfish motive. They wanted to sell
Yemen 20,000 assault rifles as well as RPGs and ammunition worth a
total of $55 million ([email protected] million). They asked American diplomats
for sympathy because "the difficult economic situation made the offer
extremely attractive to domestic arms producers."
Ever-Watchful with Allies
Even extremely small arm shipments do not escape the notice of watchful
US eyes. In September 2008, for example, German authorities reportedly
blocked a shipment of 40 TPG-1 model sniper rifles from the Bavarian
company Unique Alpine from being shipped to Iran via France.
The Germans prevaricated. Although sales of military hardware must
be approved, one official from the Ministry of Economics in Berlin
explained to the Americans, the sniper rifles were not military
hardware because they could also be used for sport.
But the Americans did not agree. They pointed out to the Germans that
on the Unique Alpine website, it said the TPG-1 rifle was a "tactical
precision weapon of the newest generation" designed for use as a
"highly integrated weapons system ... for the professional user." The
US wanted the shipment blocked, and the Germans finally relented.
From: A. Papazian