"Rostyslaw J. Lewyckyj" wrote in message . ..
Michael Petukhov wrote:

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.

Let us analyze the statement "are as false today as they were yesterday"
It means that the truth of the allegations has not changed between then
and now. But that is an obviously true statement, without regard to the
truth or falsity of the allegations. Therefore the statement is just
diplomatic noise.

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 1/2 times the speed of sound
or hovering helicopters.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V9249.AP-Iraq-French-Mis.html;COXnetJSessionID=11w5IQVnQefHDpmCYZmAi607 zgHGgkkOduEd528aFXtXKJYIumDl!-1395306204?urac=n&urvf=10653002177830.265157693688 6102

Source: Beata Pasek Associated Press Writer Via The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution

If the statement of the Poles was that the missiles in question were
manufactured last year or even very recently, in France, and imported,
then the Poles almost certainly made a mistake.
However there are many possibilities and unanswered questions.
1) When were they imported? : before or after the ban?
2) If before, then were these missiles of a type that Iraq was allowed
to have/keep after the cease fire, or should they have been
destroyed?
The date of manufacture even if old, (i.e. during the old production
dates for the type) does not matter, since I am sure that the arms
manufacturer or stockpiler would have been quite glad to sell of
the older missiles to any willing buyer.
I have read that some of the older munitions used by the US in
vietnam was from the WWII stockpile.

When you can read the factory markings clue us in, other wise save the
rhetoric for the next party congress.