armymom1228
06-24-2009, 09:37
I did a search for 'taliban' and found nothing about this. Its sorta a scary thought.
Here's some news that has folks at the Pentagon cringing -- terrorist groups and foreign governments have increasingly attempted to purchase sensitive dual-use and military technology from companies in the U.S.
This news wasn't leaked. It was released in report by a U.S. government agency.
Taliban fighters in Afghanistan have managed to escape U.S. and NATO attacks and carry out painful assaults against foreign forces, thanks to an American state-of-the-art military technology that has reached their hands.
The Government Accountability Office set up front companies and fictitious identities and was able to buy night-vision scopes and special infrared patches that U.S. troops wear in Iraq and Afghanistan. These infrared patches are used to help soldiers distinguish the enemy from their fellow combatants.
"Based on our conversations with the Department of Defense, terrorists have used U.S. uniforms and the infrared patches to get close to U.S. and allied forces on the battlefield and at bases," the GAO's Jonathan Meyer recently told reporters.
Another piece of equipment, the inclinometer, measures an object's slope and inclination for medical, optical, range finder and robotics purposes; it can also be used to make IEDs. According to the GAO and the Department of Defense, this tool has been falling into the wrong hands at the cost of American lives.
Other items purchased in the bogus transactions included parts for making nuclear devices and guiding missiles that could carry nuclear warheads, body armor and other hardware for ground combat, triggered spark gaps used to detonate nuclear weapons, and electronic sensors used in improvised explosive devices and gyro chips used in guided missiles and military aircraft, said the report.
The GAO's fake companies were able to obtain military equipment and dual use items-which have both military and commercial use-in the U.S. and ship them overseas, according to the report recently made public at a House subcommittee hearing.
Gregory Kutz, a GAO managing director who led the 13-month investigation, said it found "sensitive dual-use and military technology can be easily and legally purchased from manufacturers and distributors within the United States and illegally exported without detection."
He stressed that no laws were broken by any of the companies that sold items to the undercover GAO operation, and that the magnitude of trying to check all overseas travelers and shipments made it impossible to halt illegal export of the items under current law.
Kutz held up some of the items purchased by undercover investigators, including a small device that looked like a spark plug called a triggered spark gap. The item has medical applications and can also be used to detonate a nuclear weapon, he said.
Kutz also displayed a small device called a gyro chip that can be used to steer guided missiles. Other items on display in the committee room included some used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that target U.S. soldiers in Iraq, as well as sophisticated body armor and night-vision devices.
Undercover investigators complied with all required checks in purchasing the equipment, Kutz said, including the submission of end-user agreements that forbid exporting the equipment or using it in any nuclear, biological and missile weapons. Such documents amount to an "honor system" pledge, rather than any enforcement mechanism, he said.
The only further checks involved are confirming the validity of credit cards and the existence of websites, Kutz said. Most of the transactions took place by e-mail and telephone calls.
http://www.military.com/news/article/taliban-buy-american-to-elude-attacks.html?ESRC=eb.nl
Here's some news that has folks at the Pentagon cringing -- terrorist groups and foreign governments have increasingly attempted to purchase sensitive dual-use and military technology from companies in the U.S.
This news wasn't leaked. It was released in report by a U.S. government agency.
Taliban fighters in Afghanistan have managed to escape U.S. and NATO attacks and carry out painful assaults against foreign forces, thanks to an American state-of-the-art military technology that has reached their hands.
The Government Accountability Office set up front companies and fictitious identities and was able to buy night-vision scopes and special infrared patches that U.S. troops wear in Iraq and Afghanistan. These infrared patches are used to help soldiers distinguish the enemy from their fellow combatants.
"Based on our conversations with the Department of Defense, terrorists have used U.S. uniforms and the infrared patches to get close to U.S. and allied forces on the battlefield and at bases," the GAO's Jonathan Meyer recently told reporters.
Another piece of equipment, the inclinometer, measures an object's slope and inclination for medical, optical, range finder and robotics purposes; it can also be used to make IEDs. According to the GAO and the Department of Defense, this tool has been falling into the wrong hands at the cost of American lives.
Other items purchased in the bogus transactions included parts for making nuclear devices and guiding missiles that could carry nuclear warheads, body armor and other hardware for ground combat, triggered spark gaps used to detonate nuclear weapons, and electronic sensors used in improvised explosive devices and gyro chips used in guided missiles and military aircraft, said the report.
The GAO's fake companies were able to obtain military equipment and dual use items-which have both military and commercial use-in the U.S. and ship them overseas, according to the report recently made public at a House subcommittee hearing.
Gregory Kutz, a GAO managing director who led the 13-month investigation, said it found "sensitive dual-use and military technology can be easily and legally purchased from manufacturers and distributors within the United States and illegally exported without detection."
He stressed that no laws were broken by any of the companies that sold items to the undercover GAO operation, and that the magnitude of trying to check all overseas travelers and shipments made it impossible to halt illegal export of the items under current law.
Kutz held up some of the items purchased by undercover investigators, including a small device that looked like a spark plug called a triggered spark gap. The item has medical applications and can also be used to detonate a nuclear weapon, he said.
Kutz also displayed a small device called a gyro chip that can be used to steer guided missiles. Other items on display in the committee room included some used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that target U.S. soldiers in Iraq, as well as sophisticated body armor and night-vision devices.
Undercover investigators complied with all required checks in purchasing the equipment, Kutz said, including the submission of end-user agreements that forbid exporting the equipment or using it in any nuclear, biological and missile weapons. Such documents amount to an "honor system" pledge, rather than any enforcement mechanism, he said.
The only further checks involved are confirming the validity of credit cards and the existence of websites, Kutz said. Most of the transactions took place by e-mail and telephone calls.
http://www.military.com/news/article/taliban-buy-american-to-elude-attacks.html?ESRC=eb.nl