The German federal government originally ordered body scanners in order to increase security at German airports. Doubt has appeared lately about the moral defensibility of the order, since it was revealed that the same producer — US Defense Contractor L-3 — also has the controversial cluster bombs for sale. The federal government is now trying to rescind the purchase. Out of genuine concern, or out of being more humane?

Die Welt reports:

The state police soon intends to do test inspections of passengers at the Hamburg airport for dangerous objects. German banks were also criticized lately because they allegedly used client money form the Riester retirement funds for investments with the US defense contractor L-3.

Cluster bombs are insidious weapons. They scatter a large quantity of explosive materials over a wide area; many people become injured and killed. Since August 1st, they have been rejected by over 100 countries, Germany being part of this group. The super power US, China, and Russia are not participating in the ban, however. L-3 Communications is considered, according to reports by NGO and service branches as one of the world’s leading cluster bomb producers.

The L-3 division “Security and Detection Systems” specializes in scanner and security systems, among other things, for airports. The concerned scanners are to cost around US$ 150,000 apiece. The Interior Ministry stated that the scanners were not directly ordered from the US manufacturer. The contracting partner is the firm EAS Envimet Analytical Systems in the Austrian city Brunn.

Evil tongues would also assert that the matter is that of a political decision against the US and their ways and means of waging war — in spite of bonus points by President Obama. Also speaking for this is that the traditional American Greens are the string pullers in this call for retraction:

The Greens’ defense expert Agniszka Malczak spoke of a scandal. “This way, the federal government is hollowing out their own participating ban against cluster bombs and is sacrificing the protection of the civilian population to the profiting greed of defense enterprises.” The wheeling and dealing with “this barbaric weapon” must be stopped.

A glorious battle of the morally rich Good against the American Evil, as it seems, however, according to the official listing of 2003, Germany itself belonged to the countries that, up until a little while ago, produced the feared “Clusters”:

Egypt, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Germany, France, Greece, Great Britain, India, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Italy, Canada, The Netherlands, North Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia-Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, and USA.

The German federal government originally ordered body scanners in order to increase security at German airports. Doubt has appeared lately about the moral defensibility of the order, since it was revealed that the same producer -- US Defense Contractor L-3 -- also has the controversial cluster bombs for sale. The federal government is now ...

PI, 20. Aug 2010 |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | post a comment    
Kategorie: Antiamericanism, Germany, Green Party, Terror, USA;

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