US Intercepts German Ship Smuggling Arms for Iran

In an embarrassing indecent for the German government, US troops boarded a German-owned freighter in early October and found eight containers full of contraband ammunition. The US was acting on an intelligence tip. Reportedly, the ammunition was headed from Iran to Syria.

SPIEGELONLINE reported:

US troops boarded a German-owned freighter in early October and found eight containers full of ammunition, allegedly headed to Syria from Iran. The shipment is in violation of a UN weapons embargo and has become a source of chagrin in Berlin.

An "embarrassing affair," is how one German diplomat described it. The official could also have added: potentially damaging to trans-Atlantic relations.

Hamas continues to throw Palestinian civilians under the bus

Hamas is smuggling new weapons into Gaza in preparation for a new round of fighting. Only half the tunnels were destroyed during operation Cast Lead. Hamas does not want to negotiate peace. They are willing to fight to the death of every Palestinian civilian in Gaza. Next time you see photos of Palestinian children killed in Israeli bombings; remember the actions of Hamas during the cease fire.

Tunnel Smuggling into Gaza Continues, Hamas Resupplying Weapons
January 25, 2009
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)

Hamas Invites Foreign Correspondents to the Egyptian Border to Prove Some Smuggling Tunnels Still Operating after Operation Cast Lead. The move was made to defy Israel, Egypt and the international community, and is part of Hamas’s battle for hearts and minds and to produce a victory narrative. Excerpted from here.

Terrorist could use drug submarines

Terrorists could use drug submarines to smuggle weapons of mass destruction into the the USA. Currently, these submersibles are very popular with drug runners. The Coast Guard encountered 27 of them in the last year. That is six times the previous years rates. These submarines are very difficult for aircraft and surface ships to detect. It is not known how many illegally enter US waters each year. I would guess that several times the number detected and found are missed each year.

The Boston Globe
For US, a terror threat lurks in drug smuggling subs
Shift of cargo to arms and people is feared

By Bryan Bender

KEY WEST, Fla. - Skimming just below the surface, they are extremely difficult to detect from surveillance aircraft or patrol boats. Their sleek design, up to 80 feet in length, can secretly carry several tons of cargo thousands of miles.

These "semi-submersibles," which exhibit some of the same characteristics as military submarines, mark a significant advancement in the ability of drug smugglers to slip past coastal defenses.

So far this year, the Coast Guard says it has encountered at least 27 such vessels headed toward the southern and western United States, more than in the previous six years combined, while far more are believed to have gone undetected, according to US military and law enforcement officials.

The growing number and increased sophistication of the vessels, officially designated "self-propelled semi-submersibles," has set off alarms at the highest levels of the US military and the federal Department of Homeland Security. Counterterrorism officials fear that what drug runners now use to deliver cocaine, terrorists could one day use to sneak personnel or massive weapons into the United States.

Navy Admiral James Stavridis, commander of the US Southern Command, the Miami-based military command that concentrates on Latin America, warned in a recent military journal article, "If drug cartels can ship up to 10 tons of cocaine in a semi-submersible, they can clearly ship or rent space...

Full story here.