China suspected of offering Kadafi weapons

[Topher925]

China offered huge stockpiles of weapons to Moamer Kadhafi during the final months of his regime and held secret talks on shipping them through Algeria and South Africa, The Globe and Mail reported.

State-controlled Chinese arms companies were ready to sell weapons and ammunition worth at least $200 million (141 million euros) to Kadhafi in late July, despite UN sanctions, the Canadian daily said, citing secret documents it had obtained.

Does this worry anyone? Relationships with China seem to be getting worse and worse as time goes on.

 

[klimatos]

Does this worry anyone? Relationships with China seem to be getting worse and worse as time goes on.

Arms dealers sell arms to anyone who can pay for them. The U. S. sold poison gas to Saddam Hussein. Liquor stores sell booze to drunken drivers, and convenience stores sell tobacco to lung cancer patients. It's called freedom of action, and its consequences are not always pretty.

I believe it was Thomas Jefferson (Gotcha Squad Alert!) who said, "The tree of freedom must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots . . ." In other words, freedom costs human lives--sometimes a lot of lives. And he who would not risk his life to preserve his freedom is already a slave.

 

[MarcoD]

Does this worry anyone? Relationships with China seem to be getting worse and worse as time goes on.

Gaddafi's dictatorship was also an experiment in socialism. Given that China is interested in furthering socialism, has (or had) financial and ideological stakes in Libya, wants the resources of Libya, and has little with capitalists Islamic states, it doesn't wonder me much.

At the same time, it also might just be the truth that practically, they care little what happens in a part of the world which isn't Chinese.

 

[HallsofIvy]

Arms dealers sell arms to anyone who can pay for them.

Arms dealers selling arms is different from the Chinese government selling arms.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Arms dealers selling arms is different from the Chinese government selling arms.

Didn't the US gov just sell Saudi Arabia weapons? Pretty sure the Saudi troops weren't so nice during the Bahrain protests.

 

[Proton Soup]

Didn't the US gov just sell Saudi Arabia weapons? Pretty sure the Saudi troops weren't so nice during the Bahrain protests.

i used to work for a company that was in on it. we would even hire their people to come here and work on projects. some were very competent. others seemed to be poster children of affirmative action gone wrong, yet were somehow leading projects.

yes, some of the most vile regimes like the former egyptians (to whom we rendered prisoners for inhumane treatment) receive not only our weapons, but expert personnel travel there to provide on-site support. saudi arabia was also one of those.so yes, of course china would offer to sell weapons to gadaffi, or any of the others with strategic assets that the chinese would enjoy. we have ports in the middle east, and now the chinese are building one in pakistan.

oh, and before i forget about it, gaddafi was even talking to companies like the USA's Boeing as it acquired advanced technology to spy on its citizens and control them.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904199404576538721260166388.html

 

[klimatos]

Arms dealers selling arms is different from the Chinese government selling arms.

How so? Governments and government-supported (and financed) private agencies make up the majority of licensed arms dealers. I believe that there are very few major arms dealers who are not either overtly or covertly supported by one government agency or another. Legitimate arms dealers are licensed in every major country in which they do business. The unlicensed black-market dealers are not a significant part of the business--and it is a business!

 

[Evo]

Topher, you know better, we need the original article.

The papers appear to show that Kadhafi?s top security aides made a trip to Beijing in mid-July, where they met with officials from China North Industries Corp. (Norinco), the China National Precision Machinery Import & Export Corp. (CPMIC), and China XinXing Import & Export Corp.

The Chinese companies offered the entire contents of their stockpiles for sale, and promised to manufacture more supplies if necessary.

The companies also noted that many of the items the Libyan team requested were already held in the arsenals of the Algerian military and could be transported immediately across the border.

South Africa was also mentioned as a possible intermediary.

Appendices stapled to the main memo show that the parties discussed truck-mounted rocket launchers, fuel-air explosive missiles and anti-tank missiles, among others items, the report said.

The Chinese apparently also offered offered Kadhafi?s men the QW-18, a surface-to-air missile which is roughly similar to a US Stinger and is capable of bringing down military aircraft.

According to the papers the hosts thanked the Libyans for their discretion, emphasized the need for confidentiality, and recommended delivery via third parties.

Libya's new leaders have long accused Algeria of supporting the Kadhafi regime with military hardware, but the prospect that South Africa may also have been used to ship arms has come as a surprise to some.

South Africa has also been reluctant to recognise the NTC and has opposed NATO's mission.

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/10189958/china-offered-kadafi-weapons-report/

 

[Topher925]

Topher, you know better, we need the original article.


http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/10189958/china-offered-kadafi-weapons-report/

Sorry Evo, thought I posted it.