WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department sold more than hundreds of aircraft parts that could be used on F-14 fighter jets - a plane flown only by Iran - after announcing it had halted sales of such surplus, government investigators say.
In a report issued Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said the Defense Department had improved security in its surplus program to prevent improper sales of sensitive items.
But investigators found that roughly 1,400 parts that could be used on F-14 Tomcat fighter jets were sold in February. That came after the Pentagon announced it had suspended sales of all parts that could be used on the Tomcat while it reviewed the security situation.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
I hope the parts were defective.[/quote]
I hope the money is used in a constructive manner. That is, not to finance the contras but rather, to relieve the Americans who really need it (Katrina, healthcare…)
[quote]ssn0 wrote:
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department sold more than hundreds of aircraft parts that could be used on F-14 fighter jets - a plane flown only by Iran - after announcing it had halted sales of such surplus, government investigators say.
In a report issued Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said the Defense Department had improved security in its surplus program to prevent improper sales of sensitive items.
But investigators found that roughly 1,400 parts that could be used on F-14 Tomcat fighter jets were sold in February. That came after the Pentagon announced it had suspended sales of all parts that could be used on the Tomcat while it reviewed the security situation.
[/quote]
ssn,
Ok, that’s it, we are going to invade canada.
That’s one too many Anti-American posts. We’ve decided that if we are going to be the bad guys no matter what, we’d like to get some free things out of the deal.
F-14s are old tech. They pose no threat whatsoever to current US planes. In simulated combat, F-22 Raptors have beaten F-15s (an arguably better plane than the F-14, but at the very least its equal) while outnumbered 5 to 1. Selling the pieces poses no threat to the US and might encourage Iran to rattle enough saber for the US to attack it. Dick Cheney would get a chubby.
The real threat from F-14s came from their vaunted Phoenix missiles, and it’s a pretty sure bet that Iran doesn’t have enough of those in working order to be threatening.
Idea number two:
Presumably, the parts Iran needs are high tech ones, the ones they can’t make themselves. If the parts are integrated circuits, they might be “tainted” with failsafes or spy systems. Maybe the nav system secretly sends out info about the planes that the US can pick up and use. Or they are susceptible to immediate shutoff if they received the “proper” signal. I might also be full of crap, since I’m starting to sound like ssn0.
Idea number three:
Money talks, and Iran is able to bribe it’s way to getting the parts it needs. That might be the scariest scenario, but it isn’t the most unlikely one. Iran was apparently able to secretly supply Hezbollah with missiles during last year’s war with Israel. Getting stuff from Iran to South Lebanon under Mossad’s nose is no mean feat. Fraud, corruption and selling out are American corporate traditions, so it’s surely a lot easier than many might think.
