Kilmer17 Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Now the next and obvious question would be, if we find that these ships have WMDs, will THAT be enough for the antiwar (Or is it simply antiBush) people. http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/3453118?source=Evening Three huge cargo ships feared to be carrying Iraqi weapons of mass destruction are being tracked around the world by British and American intelligence. Look here too! • US considers 'mini-nukes' • Blair faces three crucial weeks The vessels, which have been at sea for three months, are believed to be carrying weapons smuggled out through Syria or Jordan. They are all refusing frequent requests to provide details of their cargo or destination and officials are worried that the vessels are maintaining radio silence in clear contravention of maritime law, which states all ships should be in constant communication. Other stories: Jailed for 3,000 murders Record price-fixing fine Shock ruling on asylum rights Iraqi 'terror ships' at sea Implants ban on under-18s Met charges only 11% of criminals Congestion slump hits shops Arrest threat as Mugabe arrives in Paris Despite grave suspicions of what is on board, Britain and the US are afraid to order interception by naval ships because of fears the crews would scuttle the vessels, each between 35,000 and 40,000 tonnes. If they are carrying chemical, biological or nuclear weapons this could cause catastrophic environmental damage. The vessels have called briefly at a handful of Arab countries, including Yemen, but they have been resupplied at sea with food, fuel and water by other ships. All three were chartered by a shipping agent based in Egypt and are understood to be sailing under three different flags of convenience. The discovery of weapons of mass destruction would be a huge boost to George Bush and Tony Blair and would represent the "smoking gun" they need to justify invading Iraq. However, environmental concerns are preventing boarding of the vessels, whose positions are provided by satellite 24 hours a day. They set sail just a few days after UN inspector Hans Blix returned with his team to Iraq to search for Saddam's weapons arsenal. Iraq is effectively blockaded by US and Royal Navy ships patrolling the Gulf and the three vessels are not thought to have set sail from there. A shipping industry source said: "These ships have maintained radio silence for long periods and for a considerable time they have been steaming round in everdecreasing circles. "If Iraq does have weapons of mass destruction then a very large part of its capability could be afloat on the high seas right now." In the build-up to possible war in Iraq, meanwhile, another huge wave of British troops flew out to the Gulf today. About 1,000 members of 16 Air Assault Brigade, including paratroopers, infantry and support units, left RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on three overnight flights. The troops, who are mainly from the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, based in Colchester, are among the last expected to be deployed to the Gulf region. A group of 180 soldiers were the last to leave at just after 6am today when they boarded a passenger charter jet before heading off to a secret location. They will join around 40,000 other British military personnel who have been sent to the Gulf over the last few weeks in preparation for a possible conflict to disarm Iraq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Interesting article, although it curiously fails to consider the possibility of the ships being used not merely to conceal WMD's, but also to deliver them somewhere, including a target destination. If we wanted to, we could drop SEAL teams onto those ships and take control of them in all likelihood before they were scuttled. That's what the SEALs are trained to do. I have a feeling that either this report is unfounded at least regarding the WMD's, or else we're waiting for the best time to act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 IF that were true and there were ships with WMD on them, it would be criminal not to do something at that point. In my opinion, it probably isn't true because I believe that if the Government had proof of that, they would do something. But what do I know.....:doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fansince62 Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 heard on the radio this morning that the mership stopped a month or so ago carrying scuds ultimately delivered to Yemen subsequently moved on to Germany. In Germany, several tons of material that can serve as precursor feedstock for Sarin gas was loaded and the ship proceeded to NK!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 3 month of radio silences figure eights. and rules or no rules they will be boarded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Sounds like naval target practice to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mike Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 One posible use for those ships... Scud Launchers. We need to board them soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 Something is up with those three ships. Why not start the ball rolling by preventing their resupply ships from approching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godeatgod Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 This looks fishy to me. There is only one source mentioned -"A shipping industry source". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 Originally posted by Mad Mike One posible use for those ships... Scud Launchers. We need to board them soon. New Missile Threat to America Charles R. Smith Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2002 Outlaw State Building Ship-Based Missile to Strike U.S. Homeland The Bush administration is concerned that the U.S. homeland may come under attack from a ship-based short-range missile in the very near future. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz recently stated that U.S. intelligence satellites had observed a hostile foreign power testing of a ship-based ballistic missile system. However, Wolfowitz refused to identify the nation involved. According to Wolfowitz, "we have observed an outlaw state" developing a ship-launched missile capability. U.S. officials are concerned that rogue nations or proxy terrorist groups may hide SCUD or North Korean-made No Dong missiles inside commercial ships to launch a surprise attack against U.S. coastal cities. Ships equipped to fire hidden missiles may be able to approach unnoticed within a few miles of the U.S. coastline and attack major East Coast or West Coast cities with little or no warning. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/12/2/214523.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mike Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 Originally posted by tex New Missile Threat to America Charles R. Smith Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2002 Outlaw State Building Ship-Based Missile to Strike U.S. Homeland The Bush administration is concerned that the U.S. homeland may come under attack from a ship-based short-range missile in the very near future. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz recently stated that U.S. intelligence satellites had observed a hostile foreign power testing of a ship-based ballistic missile system. However, Wolfowitz refused to identify the nation involved. According to Wolfowitz, "we have observed an outlaw state" developing a ship-launched missile capability. U.S. officials are concerned that rogue nations or proxy terrorist groups may hide SCUD or North Korean-made No Dong missiles inside commercial ships to launch a surprise attack against U.S. coastal cities. Ships equipped to fire hidden missiles may be able to approach unnoticed within a few miles of the U.S. coastline and attack major East Coast or West Coast cities with little or no warning. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/12/2/214523.shtml My post was a result of thinking like the bad guys. They can't build real warships and no warship would be allowed to come near our coast. However if you could put a couple of scud launchers on board a big enough platform, say a cargo ship... Glad to see those in charge of our defense are thinking of this. Not so glad to hear that the bad guys are too. As I have said before. it is an axiom of war that you do not plan for what you think the enemy will do, you plan for the worst thing they *can* do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 Good call MM. Evil knows no bounds. It seems those that want to kill us will use any means to accomplish their goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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