Sorry no biting on that one JB. Could have happened and does happen with great frequency in a number of countries. I happen to respect the French police and in general their soldiers.
What I have a beef with right now is the diplomatic stance of Jacques Chirac and that little idiot Dominique de Villepin. That is where our problem lies. We were stabbed in the back by Chirac and no amount of media double speak by Chirac is going to change the fact that most Bush administration officials know exactly what was going on. We know what is behind this “multipolar” world of Chirac’s. We understand why France wants to sell weapons to China. If France wants to play those kinds of games, they will get some blowback and we need to stop pretending that they are our “ally.” When Chirac is out of office in 2007, let’s re-examine our relationship to see whether this is going to be a long-term policy or just a product of the corrupt and ineffectual Chirac overblown glorious vaingleur of which de Villepin is his chief running dog and poodle.
The top four exporters of high-tech weapons systems to the PRC are in order of volume:
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Israel
- France
The U.S. currently gives Israel around $5 billion per year in economic and military aid.
If the U.S. and the PRC ever go to war over Taiwan, the first weapon Taiwan will see coming over the horizon at it is the Israeli Harpy assault drone, designed to knock out radar installations and ‘blind’ Taiwan defenses.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2004/04fisher/part3.htm
Dear Spook:
Almost a whole week without attacking the JEWS!!! congratulations oh it’s only Wednesday. Damn. Better luck next week.
Yes, your statement does highlight that Israel is the NO. 3 exporter of weapons to China!!! but what you have not shown that was listed in the report is that Israel’s sales account for merely 1 percent of the total foreign weapons sales to China from 1993 to 2002. What is Russia? 92 percent. Ukraine? 6 percent. Israel? 1 percent. France? 1 percent.
Also, it should be noted that Israeli sales began in 1992 (off the chart) when the contract was signed with no U.S. objections and amounted to US$18 million per year for those 10 years ending in 2001. What has been sold since then?
So yes if the Israelis are selling this Harpoon technology that is serious, but if the US had the opportunity to sign off on this in 1992 and chose not to why then blame Israel for fulfilling its contract? Also, given the huge difference between Russian and Israeli sales, I think your point is somewhat sensationalistic and not fair.
But by all means, keep any pressure on Israel to keep them from selling whatever Spook seems to think that Israel is selling them but I would be much more worried about France’s attempts to end the embargo given that
a. France has a terrible record of selling to dangerous regimes.
b. France now has a foreign policy that has placed weakening the US as one of its main planks. No matter what Chirac says we know what he is up to. This is a far greater danger than Israel and we would be wise to pay attention to it and put pressure on France if we have to.
[color=blue]Israel is currently upgrading the Harpy UAV capabilities for the PRC so it’s a relevant issue:[/color]
"The crisis in U.S.-Israeli defense relations arose when the Pentagon’s number three, Undersecretary of State for Policy Douglas Feith, learned that Israel had sold advanced-technology Harpy assault drones to China in the mid-1990s and was upgrading the unmanned airborne vehicles for the Chinese."
22Dec04, Haaretz
[color=blue]If you’re going to raise the subject of weapons sales to the PRC and who is and isn’t a false ally you should be ready for a robust debate on the facts of the issue and not argue that your favored groups be exempted from the debate for this or that irrelevant reason.[/color]
Special Pleading:
"People are most tempted to engage in special pleading when they are subject to a law or moral rule that they wish to evade. People often attempt to apply a “double standard”, which makes an exception to the rule for themselves
So get off the Treacherous French thread and start an Evil Jews!!! thread. I’ll be happy to join you over there but please do start the thread and give it a nice catchy name. I am sure others of your ilk will be happy to join you and I will be happy to “learn” in the proces…
I don’t believe that an entire nationality or religious group is “treacherous”, “evil” or any other sweeping negative sterotype so I won’t be starting any such threads of my own any time soon.
Individuals are treacherous, evil – bigoted – no doubt. They’re the real problem. They collect in groups and name themselves and become leaders of countries but it’s a self-selecting grouping based on shared individual weaknesses and not on something inherited or native as you so often suggest.
These treacherous, evil, dishonest people and their self-selected groups are the true danger to the well-being of the world today. A plethora of their voices arose from the ashes of the World Trade Center or in glee at the carnage of 9/11 to spread their private agendas of hate and bigotry in the guise of restoring honor and security to their part of the world.
You can tell who they are when the light of truth shines on them and their first reaction is to scurry back into the shadows cursing and gnashing their teeth.
Spookie said:
AND
I see Spook. Really I do, now scurry back into the shadows. You have some cursing and gnashing to do. haha