marketplace missile confoirmed as a US missile
voices | 31.03.2003 15:54
See below info from Dr Glen Rangwal, the Professor who discovered the dodgy intelligence dossier re the missile which hit the second Baghdad market place, killing 62
see below analysis and details from Dr Glen Rangwala, the Cambridge
professor who exposed the dodgy dossier- confirming missile which hit
marketplace was a US one, you can cal glen on 01223 335759 or 07880 665731
richard
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2003 2:28 PM
Subject: [casi] Tracing the missile
The US and UK government are still claiming that the 28 March bombing of Shu'ala marketplace, which is being reported as having killed 62 peope, could have been the result of malfunctioning Iraqi air defence
equipment.
(see, eg, Donald Rumsfeld's interview yesterday at:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/lat
est&f=03033008.elt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
).
Shards from the fuselage of the missile were recovered by a local resident, and have been found contain a code number, MFR 96214 09.
This was reported by Robert Fisk, "In Baghdad, blood and bandages for the
innocent", 30 March 2003, at:
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=392161 :
"the missile was guided by computers and that vital shard of fuselage was
computer-coded. It can be easily verified and checked by the Americans - if
they choose to do so. It reads: 30003-704ASB 7492. The letter "B" is scratched and could be an "H". This is believed to be the serial number.
It is followed by a further code which arms manufacturers usually refer to as
the weapon's "Lot" number. It reads: MFR 96214 09."
An analysis has been sent to me that points out to me that "MFR" is code in defence contracts for "manufacturer".
96214 is a manufacturer identification number, a so-called "Cage Code".
Cage codes can be checked on the site:
http://www.gidm.dlis.dla.mil/bincs/begin_search.asp
96214 is the cage code for Raytheon Company, a Texas-based military
supplier that manufactures parts for Tomahawk missiles.
See for example their press release of 27 March 2003, "Raytheon Tactical
Tomahawk Penetrator Variant Successfully Completes Inaugural Test Flight":
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=149999&TICK=RTN&STOR
Y=/www/story/03-27-2003/0001915413&EDATE=Mar+27,+2003
There seem to be 4 possibilities:
- that the shard did not come from the missile that hit Shu'ala
marketplace.
- that Robert Fisk is having us on.
- that the Iraqis successfully smuggled a missile in from Texas which they
then fired at the Baghdad market.
- that the missile that hit Shu'ala market place was made in Texas and
fired by US forces.
I hope this helps clarify the relevant likelihoods.
professor who exposed the dodgy dossier- confirming missile which hit
marketplace was a US one, you can cal glen on 01223 335759 or 07880 665731
richard
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2003 2:28 PM
Subject: [casi] Tracing the missile
The US and UK government are still claiming that the 28 March bombing of Shu'ala marketplace, which is being reported as having killed 62 peope, could have been the result of malfunctioning Iraqi air defence
equipment.
(see, eg, Donald Rumsfeld's interview yesterday at:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/lat est&f=03033008.elt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
).
Shards from the fuselage of the missile were recovered by a local resident, and have been found contain a code number, MFR 96214 09.
This was reported by Robert Fisk, "In Baghdad, blood and bandages for the
innocent", 30 March 2003, at:
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=392161 : "the missile was guided by computers and that vital shard of fuselage was
computer-coded. It can be easily verified and checked by the Americans - if
they choose to do so. It reads: 30003-704ASB 7492. The letter "B" is scratched and could be an "H". This is believed to be the serial number.
It is followed by a further code which arms manufacturers usually refer to as
the weapon's "Lot" number. It reads: MFR 96214 09."
An analysis has been sent to me that points out to me that "MFR" is code in defence contracts for "manufacturer".
96214 is a manufacturer identification number, a so-called "Cage Code".
Cage codes can be checked on the site:
http://www.gidm.dlis.dla.mil/bincs/begin_search.asp 96214 is the cage code for Raytheon Company, a Texas-based military
supplier that manufactures parts for Tomahawk missiles.
See for example their press release of 27 March 2003, "Raytheon Tactical
Tomahawk Penetrator Variant Successfully Completes Inaugural Test Flight":
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=149999&TICK=RTN&STOR Y=/www/story/03-27-2003/0001915413&EDATE=Mar+27,+2003
There seem to be 4 possibilities:
- that the shard did not come from the missile that hit Shu'ala
marketplace.
- that Robert Fisk is having us on.
- that the Iraqis successfully smuggled a missile in from Texas which they
then fired at the Baghdad market.
- that the missile that hit Shu'ala market place was made in Texas and
fired by US forces.
I hope this helps clarify the relevant likelihoods.
voices
e-mail:
voices@voicesuk.org
Comments
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Related postings and further analysis
31.03.2003 17:11
See also earlier postings
Please note that in the last of these postings there is discussion of munitions possibly being used beyond their 'time expired' date.
A bomb with a very similar set of reference numbers is documented from the Kosovo conflict some years ago, which may support this idea. This depends on whether these reference numbers reflect only the type of missile and so give no indication of age, or whether they partly reflect a serial number or batch number.
An argument was raised that if the missile was very old, that might indicate that the Iraqis obtained it on the black market.
This might best be resolved by establishing from witnesses whether a recognisable US jet aircraft sound was heard immediately prior to the explosion.
It should also be borne in mind that there have been no reports that I'm aware of of Iraqi aircraft being used at present and so we would need to ask how the missile could have been delivered by the Iraqis.
It might alternately suggest an unreliable old missile being used by 'coalition' forces and going astray.
It should also be remembered that Raytheon will quite rightly argue that they supply these weapons on the understanding they are used responsibly (if such a thing is conceivable) by democratically elected governments. It might though be reasonable to expect Raytheon to explain the significance of the reference numbers and the likely age of the munition.
It would also be useful to establish whether these reference numbers indicate a cruise missile, or a smaller missile. Cruise missiles have a 'list price' in the 1.5 to 2 million dollar region, which would suggest a very expensive propoganda exercise by the Iraqis.
We may never know the full truth, but we can at least box in the propogandists and liars to the full extent possible through analysing the evidence and asking the right questions of the right people ASAP.
In truth we Trust....
Distributed Intelligence Agency