BAE’s past
Seems that the BAE has some previous issues in the past besides the current fiasco with Dakota Meyer. Thanks to DC for the link.
I really like the Defense Articles and Services Brokering Violations to start off with and this was this year too.
BAE Systems plc and its business units and subsidiaries – except its U.S. subsidiary, BAE Systems, Inc. – entered into a civil settlement with the U.S. Department of State for alleged violations of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The State Department alleged BAE committed 2,591 violations of the ITAR in connection with unauthorized brokering of U.S. defense articles and services, and that the violations were “systemic, wide-spread, and sustained for more than ten years.”
Or how about Foreign Corruption Global Settlement?
In June 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation into allegations that BAE Systems, using American banks, made up to $2 billion in secret payments to the former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, in the years after securing a multi-billion dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia (the al-Yamamah deal). In February 2010, BAE entered into a settlement with the Department of Justice and the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which launched an investigation in 2004 of alleged bribery by BAE in Saudi Arabia and other countries.
Yea lots of fun stuff. So the claim that they want to sell gear to Pakistan seems to have some substance.
Oh I wonder if the contract for the scopes fell out due to projected budget cuts that they would go looking for another bidder. Here is a screen cap that talk about what I think are the optics in question.
Category: Politics, Veterans Issues
I find it amusing that one of the adchoices ads at the bottom of this article is from baesystems for radiation hardened electronic components – something else Pakistan could use. It’s also strange they would be advertising that on blog pages…
Oh man. Well maybe we ought to ask a lot of questions about our defense contractors are selling.
You know, I was under the impression that new generation NVGs and thermal optics were never allowed to be sold under any circumstances to anybody foreign. As in “you can’t even get an export license for this”.
Hell, the NVG company on AR15.com says that even letting a foreign national LOOK through a newer NVG or thermal scope is an ITAR violation.
I laughed for all the wrong reasons reading the blurb about the scopes.
“IT FEELS GOOD TO BE WORKING
ON A PRODUCT THAT I KNOW
SAVES LIVES. WE TRY OUR BEST
TO MAKE THE BEST PRODUCT WE
CAN SO OUR SERVICE PEOPLE
CAN COME HOME SAFE”
The problem as I see it, too often nothing more than a “settlement” w/no admission of guilt lets all who should be held to account walk scott free.
Until these s.o.b.’s start doing long years, making little ones out of big ones, this is going to keep happening. Better yet, as selling an entire nation (in this case us) down the river for nothing more than an improvement to your “bottom line,” make crimes like this a mandatory Capital Punishment, w/guilty verdict, offense.
Money talks, bullshit walks.
BAE speaks very well to all the right people.
BAE is British owned. Most French companies are owned in part by the French gov’t. So we had spying from the French on behalf of Dassault et al. They were spying on American companies (60 Mins. reported this back when they gave a damn about American jobs).
ITT got caught selling night vision systems to China and paid out the butt with fines and agreed to develop better tech for the DOD.
BAE has powerful friends on capital hill and in London. Expect to see some heads roll but then scandal umpteen will happen.
They have THAAD, the Bradley and other programs they are running for the DOD. They bought their way into the field. If it wasn’t for those programs (and others they got from buying American companies) they’d have been bounced back across the pond.