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In the first of a two-part series written from Damascus, The Times reported that �1,000 heavy machine guns and up to 20 million bullets for assault rifles,� supplied by SES International Corp., �helped Baghdad�s ill-equipped army grow stronger before the war began in March. Some supplies may now be aiding the insurgency against the U.S.-led occupation.�

Files cited by the Times were taken from the abandoned office of Al Bashair Trading Co., by a reporter for the German magazine Stern shortly after U.S. troops entered Baghdad.

The newspaper said it had the 800 signed contracts translated from Arabic and sought confirmation internationally during a three-month investigation.

Among the findings The Times reported:

� A Polish company shipped up to 380 surface-to-air missile engines to Baghdad through Syria.

� A South Korean firm shipped $8 million in telecommunications equipment for �air defense.�

� A Slovenian firm shipped 20 battle tank barrels to the Syrian firm early in 2002.

� Two North Korean officials went to Damascus to discuss an Iraqi payment of $10 million for components for ballistic missiles.

According to the newspaper, a confidential U.N. report identifies Al Bashair as the biggest of 13 companies used to evade the U.N. arms embargo and other sanctions. Al Bashair made deals for as much as $1 billion a year in the 1990s.

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Originally posted by Ritten:
Now, without the sactions what would have been imported???

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