i guess there's still demand for fiber optics in a few small pockets of the world <ggg>.
Chinese Firm Probed On Links With Iraq
By Colum Lynch
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, March 17, 2001; Page A16
UNITED NATIONS, March 15 -- Huawei Technologies, the Chinese company suspected of installing fiber-optic cables to improve Iraqi antiaircraft batteries, has been seeking U.N. approval for more than a year to sell Iraq about $34 million in fiber-optics and related equipment, according to U.N. documentsand diplomats.
Pentagon officials have accused the company of laying optical communications cables between Iraqi antiaircraft batteries, radar stations and command centers, which they say could significantly aid Baghdad's efforts to shoot down U.S. warplanes patrolling the "no-fly" zones over northern and southern Iraq. The Pentagon officials cited the alleged construction work as the primary reason for a joint U.S.-British air raid on Feb. 16, the largest strike against Iraq in two years.
Since the airstrike, the Bush administration has asked the Chinese government to investigate whether Huawei Technologies violated U.N. sanctions by selling Baghdad fiber-optic cables for military purposes. China initially denied the U.S. allegation, then promised to look into it, suggesting -- at least publicly -- that officials in Beijing knew nothing about it.
The confidential U.N. documents prove that the Chinese government has long been aware of the company's desire to sell advanced communications equipment to Iraq, although they do not indicate whether China knew the fiber-optic gear was intended for military purposes.
In April and December 1999, Chinese diplomats applied to a U.N. sanctions committee for approval of two contracts for Huawei Technologies to supply Baghdad with "telecommunications equipment and switching systems." U.N. diplomats familiar with the proposed sale said that at least one of the contracts specifically referred to fiber-optics...." |
