The Case of the Austrian Sniper Rifles
irrelevant and immaterial
By streiff Posted in War — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Another perfectly good myth has bitten the dust.
Back in March 2007 the Telegraph reported:
Austrian sniper rifles that were exported to Iran have been discovered in the hands of Iraqi terrorists, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
More than 100 of the.50 calibre weapons, capable of penetrating body armour, have been discovered by American troops during raids.
Or maybe not...
Confederate Yankee reports in an exclusive that he has run the story to earth and there is no there there.
In an exclusive to Confederate Yankee, U.S. Army Christopher C. Garver, Director of the Combined Press Information Center for Multinational Corps-Iraq, stated that no such rifles have ever been confirmed recovered by American military forces in Iraq.
"Ever since that article, we have queried our units to see if anyone can find any evidence of those Steyr-Mannlicher sniper rifles," said Garver.
"To date, we have not found one unit that has any knowledge of that find.
"I can't tell you that this didn't happen -- the possibility that the cache of rifles was destroyed before being completely documented does exist, though the chance of that happening is small -- but we have been able to find no evidence of it."
There is probably no greater meaning here than you can't believe everything you read in the papers but anytime on of these urban legends can be run to ground it is a positive.
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And the refutation will go away before the story does.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany, June 13 — The flow of illicit weapons from Iran to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan has reached such large quantities that it suggests that the shipments are taking place with the knowledge of the government in Tehran, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Wednesday.
Mr. Gates said he had seen new intelligence analysis over the past couple of weeks “that makes it pretty clear there’s a fairly substantial flow of weapons” from Iran across its border to assist insurgents in Afghanistan.
Commenting on potential Iranian government involvement in the arms flow, Mr. Gates said, “I haven’t seen any intelligence specifically to this effect, but I would say, given the quantities that we’re seeing, it is difficult to believe that it’s associated with smuggling or the drug business or that it’s taking place without the knowledge of the Iranian government.”
Iranian finger prints across their other border. Combine this with the growing conflagration in Gaza and the potential for the conflict to spread, not to mention their meddling in Iraq, and Iran becomes an even greater influence in the region.
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” Mark Twain
that those Austrian rifles were sold by Kurt Waldheim!
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle