United States Arms Sales Iraq

Teledyne Inc. agreed Thursday to pay $13 million and plead guilty to federal charges that it illegally exported tons of zirconium that was used in making cluster bombs for Iraq in the 1980s. The settlement is the Los Angeles-based company's latest effort to dispose of a barrage of federal charges and civil lawsuits filed against it in recent years. The claims have given Teledyne one of the worst ethics records among U.S.

Following a tip from U.S. intelligence, Jordan intercepted a shipment of sophisticated missile parts destined for Iraq in violation of U.N. sanctions, Jordanian and diplomatic sources said. The sources said the seized equipment was for missile guidance systems, a clear breach of the ban on almost all Iraqi imports and a sign that work is continuing on intermediate-range missiles Iraq is no longer permitted to possess. The sources would not give the origin of the parts, but they were not U.S.

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) called on the Commerce Department on Thursday to make public any sales by U.S. companies to Iraq and other "lethal enemies" in the last five years. During a hearing convened by the House Government Operations subcommittee on commerce, consumer and monetary affairs to look into such sales, Cox asked Commerce Department officials to justify why the identities of sellers are kept private.

Teledyne Salesman Sentenced to Prison: Edward A. Johnson, the only Teledyne employee convicted in the defense contractor's sale of the metal zirconium to Chilean arms maker Carlos Cardoen in the 1980s, was sentenced to nearly 3 1/2 years in prison. Johnson showed no emotion as U.S. District Judge Shelby Highsmith in Miami read the sentence. Johnson, who worked at Teledyne's Wah Chang Albany unit in Albany, Ore.

Newly declassified documents describe fears within the U.S. government that Iraq was diverting technology to its nuclear-weapons program as early as 1985--much earlier than previously known. The documents contradict angry assertions Wednesday by President Bush that the United States was unaware of any such diversion in the years before the Persian Gulf War while Washington was providing billions of dollars in aid and technology to Baghdad.

President Bush and his Democratic opponent Bill Clinton were each put on the defensive in nationally televised interviews Sunday night, with Bush insisting that the nation's economy is poised for a "strong recovery" and Clinton contending that he has told the whole truth regarding his draft record.

Teledyne Inc. reportedly is ready to plead guilty to federal charges that it illegally exported 130 tons of zirconium that was used to make cluster bombs for Iraq in the 1980s. The Los Angeles-based defense contractor plans to enter the plea rather than face trial next month in Miami, a source close to the case told Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Former President George Bush misrepresented his role in the arms-for-hostage deals with Iran while he was vice president, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz says in memoir excerpts published Sunday. In the excerpts, which appear in Time magazine, Shultz says he was "astonished" to read a 1987 interview in the Washington Post in which Bush said no one strongly opposed the arms deals during 1985 and 1986 White House meetings. Shultz remembers those meetings differently.

A federal judge Wednesday rejected claims by a division of Teledyne Inc. that its role in the sale of 24,000 cluster bombs to Iraq was legal because the transactions were part of a secret U.S. policy to arm Iraq before the Persian Gulf War. In response to a government motion to keep classified information secret, U.S. District Judge Shelby Highsmith in Miami said that the claim by the Los Angeles-based defense company "does not constitute any legally cognizable defense."

Senate investigators are checking reports of covert assistance to Iraq by the Reagan and Bush administrations, Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) said Sunday. Appearing on NBC-TV's "Meet the Press," Mitchell said he had not been informed of any such assistance, if it occurred, and he did not know whether other members of Congress were told. "I do not know whether a violation of law occurred or not," he said. "We are going to look into this tomorrow.

Teledyne Inc. agreed Thursday to pay $13 million and plead guilty to federal charges that it illegally exported tons of zirconium that was used in making cluster bombs for Iraq in the 1980s. The settlement is the Los Angeles-based company's latest effort to dispose of a barrage of federal charges and civil lawsuits filed against it in recent years. The claims have given Teledyne one of the worst ethics records among U.S.

Teledyne Inc. reportedly is ready to plead guilty to federal charges that it illegally exported 130 tons of zirconium that was used to make cluster bombs for Iraq in the 1980s. The Los Angeles-based defense contractor plans to enter the plea rather than face trial next month in Miami, a source close to the case told Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Teledyne Inc., already facing criminal charges of illegally exporting zirconium used to make cluster bombs for Iraq, was indicted again Wednesday on new charges of conspiring to ship 154 tons of the material to Jordan in the late 1980s, the Justice Department announced.

The Justice Department, after months of scrutiny, has decided to open a broad new investigation into whether laws were broken by U.S. officials and American companies in arming Iraq before the Persian Gulf War. The inquiry, which is being led by a special assistant to Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, raises the possibility of new criminal charges in a controversy that many skeptics thought had been dismissed by the Clinton Administration. So far, one U.S.

A federal judge Wednesday rejected claims by a division of Teledyne Inc. that its role in the sale of 24,000 cluster bombs to Iraq was legal because the transactions were part of a secret U.S. policy to arm Iraq before the Persian Gulf War. In response to a government motion to keep classified information secret, U.S. District Judge Shelby Highsmith in Miami said that the claim by the Los Angeles-based defense company "does not constitute any legally cognizable defense."

Lawyers for a division of Teledyne Inc., claimed Monday that the Los Angeles-based defense company was allowed to sell material for Iraqi cluster bombs as part of a secret U.S. government policy to assist the regime of Saddam Hussein before the Persian Gulf War. Teledyne said that the U.S. government knew that Chilean arms manufacturer Carlos Cardoen was selling the bombs to Iraq but still granted Teledyne export licenses to provide Cardoen with zirconium, a key ingredient in the weapons.

A senior Agriculture Department official told Congress that department employees spent last weekend shredding documents related to $5 billion in loans at the center of the controversy over Bush Administration aid for Iraq, Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez (D-Tex.) said Tuesday.

Following a tip from U.S. intelligence, Jordan intercepted a shipment of sophisticated missile parts destined for Iraq in violation of U.N. sanctions, Jordanian and diplomatic sources said. The sources said the seized equipment was for missile guidance systems, a clear breach of the ban on almost all Iraqi imports and a sign that work is continuing on intermediate-range missiles Iraq is no longer permitted to possess. The sources would not give the origin of the parts, but they were not U.S.

Former President George Bush misrepresented his role in the arms-for-hostage deals with Iran while he was vice president, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz says in memoir excerpts published Sunday. In the excerpts, which appear in Time magazine, Shultz says he was "astonished" to read a 1987 interview in the Washington Post in which Bush said no one strongly opposed the arms deals during 1985 and 1986 White House meetings. Shultz remembers those meetings differently.

In a case that may shed light on how the West helped to arm Iraq, Justice Department officials are wrapping up an investigation into how a Los Angeles-based defense contractor supplied a potent ingredient for Iraqi cluster bombs, according to documents and interviews. One hundred tons of munitions-grade zirconium, which intensifies burning and helps penetrate armor, were sold by a division of defense contractor Teledyne Inc.