Report says US military gear sold to Iran and China
{{date|January 17, 2007}}

[[Image:The Pentagon US Department of Defense building.jpg|right|thumb|250px|[[w:The Pentagon|The Pentagon]].]]

Fighter jet parts and other [[United States|U.S.]] military gear that were to be sold to [[Iran]] and [[China]] have been traced back to the [[w:The Pentagon|Pentagon]]. The gear was not sold directly to these countries, but rather it was obtained by middlemen who the sold it again.

In one case, federal investigators said that a [[w:Pakistan|Pakistani]] middleman purchased arms from the [[w:Defense Department|Defense Department’s]] surplus auction. The arms purchased were [[w:Chinook helicopter|Chinook helicopter]] engine parts, which the [[w: Immigration and Customs Enforcement|Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] agency said did successfully make it to Iran.

In a second case, [[w:F-14 Tomcat|Tomcat]] parts were bought from the Defense Department’s surplus division. Custom agents confiscated and returned the parts, but later found out that the Defense Department had resold the parts to another buyer suspected of being a broker for [[w:Iran|Iran]].  Except for the [[w:US|US]], which recently retired its Tomcat air fleet, Iran is the only other country flying Tomcats.

In 2005 alone, the profits made from the Pentagon's public surplus sales were $57 million. 

The Pentagon has had previous incidents in the past.  In 2003, a [[w:Camden, New Jersey|Camden]], [[w:New Jersey|New Jersey]] company, State Metal Industries, was convicted for selling [[w:AIM-7 Sparrow|AIM-7 Sparrow missile]] guidance parts, which it had bought from the Defense Department’s surplus auctions, to an entity partially owned by the [[w:Chinese government|Chinese government]].

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/07/jan/1196.html
|title=Report Says US Military Equipment Gets to Iran, China
|author=Al Pessin
|pub=VOA
|date=January 17, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MILITARY_SURPLUS_STINGS?SITE=PASUN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT|
title=AP: Iran Gets Army Gear in Pentagon Sale|
author=Sharon Theimer|
pub=Associated Press|
date=January 16, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Military-Surplus-Stings.html?_r=1&oref=slogin|
title=AP: Iran Gets Army Gear in Pentagon Sale|
author=|
pub=New York Times|
date=January 16, 2007}}

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[[Category:Iran]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:China]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:Middle East]]
[[Category:Science and technology]]
[[Category:Economy and business]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Crime and law]]
The Pentagon.

Fighter jet parts and other U.S. military gear that were to be sold to Iran and China have been traced back to the Pentagon. The gear was not sold directly to these countries, but rather it was obtained by middlemen who the sold it again.

In one case, federal investigators said that a Pakistani middleman purchased arms from the Defense Department’s surplus auction. The arms purchased were Chinook helicopter engine parts, which the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said did successfully make it to Iran.

In a second case, Tomcat parts were bought from the Defense Department’s surplus division. Custom agents confiscated and returned the parts, but later found out that the Defense Department had resold the parts to another buyer suspected of being a broker for Iran.  Except for the US, which recently retired its Tomcat air fleet, Iran is the only other country flying Tomcats.

In 2005 alone, the profits made from the Pentagon's public surplus sales were $57 million. 

The Pentagon has had previous incidents in the past.  In 2003, a Camden, New Jersey company, State Metal Industries, was convicted for selling AIM-7 Sparrow missile guidance parts, which it had bought from the Defense Department’s surplus auctions, to an entity partially owned by the Chinese government.
Iran United States China Asia North America Middle East Science and technology Economy and business Politics and conflicts Crime and law