The US Military is selling fighter jet parts to Iran. No, this news is not from the 70’s, it’s from 2005.
The process is really simple: sell > confiscate > resell.
“In one case, convicted middlemen for Iran bought Tomcat parts from the Defense Department’s surplus division. Customs agents confiscated them and returned them to the Pentagon, which sold them again — customs evidence tags still attached — to another buyer, a suspected broker for Iran.”
Now, you might say the Pentagon’s surplus store (Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service) is not selling directly to Iran, only to middlemen. That’s certainly the bureaucrat’s defense:
“”The fact that those individuals chose to violate the law and the fact that the customs people caught them really indicates that the process is working,” said Baillie, the Defense Logistics Agency’s executive director of distribution.”
Hm… let’s think for a minute. Is it safe to assume that only those who operate F-14s would be interested in buying spare parts? I thought so. The only problem is, that since the Pentagon retired the F-14 Tomcats, Iran is the only country still flying them.
The process is working, after all. (read the full story on CBS News)
Hey, as long as they keep confiscating the parts before they leave the country, it’s all good. We all wish we could sell the same item over and over again. Oh wait, that’s software.
Yeah, but apparently some slip through… somehow those birds keep on flying.
Iran is the only country still flying the F-14 Tomcats, and they are not allow to buy. Who will buy it? Why Pentagon do not just shed it? Sell it for scrap metal! Simple!!