This thread is inspired from the following post lifted from a thread on the French position :

Always nice to hear that someone thinks my country has integrity [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] , but this is the first time I have heard that we (Australia) have arms deals with Iraq - does anyone have any information on what we sell them? I am honestly curious, because I have to admit that the only things I thought we sold them were wheat and sheep (and possibly sugar and medicines and the like).

I am just curious if anyone has an information source because I have honestly never seen this stated or implied before. The other curious thing is "what the hell do we make that could be sold on the arms trade?". I am pretty sure if our Army or Airforce wants new guns, flak jackets, helicopters, bazookas, explosives etc - we buy them off the countries that make them (and we mostly buy US). The only thing that I can immediately think of that we make on our own are locally produced patrol boats and corvettes for our very small Navy. Some of those tiny ships of ours have regularly been rotated on station in the gulf to enforce UN trade embargoes on weapons etc to Iraq since the Kuwaiti Affair.

I know we have one (yes, only one) rather small explosives factory in the country, but I hardly expect that produces enough to satisfy our farmers demands to help them obliterate obstructive tree trunks from their paddocks.

Hmm, I guess the problem could be one of secondary processing, and perhaps I am not looking laterally enough. Maybe our wheat is being further processed to make deadly "flour bombs" and I guess they could be strapping explosives to our "suicide sheep".

Personally, I will be mildly disappointed if someone produces proof of an Aussie arms trade. I don't support unilateral action outside UN mandates, but I would not want to see us doing anything that props up a dictator that I would like to see removed.

I didn't see anything about it in a quick Google search. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Tongue in cheek - maybe we produce something like military helmets or water bottles or something - maybe Crocodile Dundee sold them some "That's not a knife - THIS is a knife" knives :D .

I couldn't Google anything either Ronn, but I am open to information.

Dav ... I was unaware of Austrailia being any sort of arms dealer. You do have some home grown stuff, but you mostly buy Brittish and US. Your SF use I think H&K which is German .... but that's about it AFAIK.

But I know for a fact that France, Germany, Russia, and China deal in Iraq ....

[ 03-14-2003, 10:26 PM: Message edited by: Night Stalker ]

Davros - sorry for the misunderstanding. I did know that Aussie had trade with Iraq, but I don't believe they are selling arms.
"Just a side note - Australia, France, Russia and Germany all have arms deals or some other trade with Iraq." when I said that, I didn't mean to imply that Australia has arms deals, just trade.

Sorry again for the faux pas. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I do respect Australia - shoot, they are one of the few allies we have left. :(

(sorry for the proliferation of puns. It is late. [img]tongue.gif[/img] )

Don't worry Charean - my fault too for not reading that sentence a bit more slowly the first time through (blush). I read the first part, and we all now that all of those countries do apparently have arms deals with Iraq. My post wasn't accusatory of defamation though - I was amused and curious.

I wasn't offended because I couldn't believe that it would be true. Sure you get some people that disbelieve things because they passionately don't want to be true (even when they secretly acknowledge to themselves that their countries leaders could be lying to them). In this case, I just couldn't believe that we would have something of the arms variety that anyone would want to buy.

Not sure if this is the case above Davros, but Australia has an arms manufacturing capability. Often just building modified foreign designs (Hamel gun*), but has historically also produced its own weapons. e.g. Owen gun**

* Modified British Light Howitzer
** Sub machine gun

Once again you haven't done your research Davros. You have conveniently forgotten about one of the crack units in The Iraqi Republican Guard, The 95th Saddam Boomerang Brigade. This unit was equipped and trained by Australians in direct contravention of UN resolution number 1,929,372,717,272. (That's the one about protection of kangaroos - to save you using Google!). The Australians got around the resolution by only using their boomerangs on camels. They often scribble the final destination on the side of the boomerang much like the US do on their bombs (Baghdad or Bust), the 95th put things like "Back here" or "Palm of my hand".

Their motto is "Scud this you bastards!"

Edited because I'm a Ma'at!!! (Wossatden?)

[ 03-17-2003, 06:57 AM: Message edited by: Donut ]

LOL at Donut - those Republican Guards - what was it the 95th ;) - they better watch out if they are playing with our boomerangs - those things have a high "backfire ratio". I have heard of soldiers getting killed by friendly fire, but the correct term for firing off a friendly boomerang that returns and kills you is SUICIDE :D .

Thing in front of the do'or ;) ;)