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Pentagon denies bomb-carrying flights broke rules in Britain
Washington (AFP) Jul 27, 2006 The Pentagon denied Thursday that chartered flights carrying bunker-busting bombs to Israel through British airports violated procedures. British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett expressed British displeasure over the flights to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after they were reported by the Daily Telegraph. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the Defense Department looked into the allegations that procedures were not followed, and found nothing amiss. The US military and flights contracted on its behalf "comply with all existing bilateral agreements and with standard aviation practices," he said. "We recently reviewed our operations and we have found that there have been no deviations from those established procedures," he told reporters. The Daily Telegraph said two chartered Airbus A310 cargo planes laden with GBU-28 bombs landed at Scotland's Prestwick airport over the weekend for refueling and crew rest on the way to Israel. The GBU-28 is a 2,268-kilo (5,000-pound) bomb designed to destroy hardened bunkers and buried targets. The United States is reported to have accelerated the delivery of laser-guided bombs to Israel since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and the Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Whitman would not comment on the specifics of US arms shipments to Israel. Asked whether a British airport should be used for the transport of weapons, Beckett told Channel 4 News Wednesday: "No I am not happy about it. "Not least because it appears that in so far as there are procedures for the handling of that kind of cargo -- hazardous cargoes irrespective of what they are -- it does appear that they were not followed. "I have already let the United States know that this is an issue that appears to be seriously at fault ... that we will be making a formal protest if it appears that that is what has happened. "We are still looking into the facts, but I have already notified the United States that we are not happy about it." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Nuclear Space Technology at Space-Travel.com
Israel warplanes strike Lebanon, kill three
Beirut (AFP) Jul 27, 2006 Israeli warplanes carried out new air strikes Thursday on Hezbollah strongholds in south Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley to the east of the capital, killing three people, police said. |
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