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jonSlack
07-27-2007, 10:06 AM
Village Voice - Busting the Merchant of War (http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0730,thompson,77325,6.html/full)


On February 6, two representatives from the infamous Colombian left-wing paramilitary and drug-trafficking group FARC arrived at a palatial Renaissance estate in Marbella, Spain. While their compadres squatted in the jungle, the two soaked up the Mediterranean opulence of the place, noticing the pool shaped like a four-leaf clover and the mastiffs that patrolled the grounds each night. Their host, a 62-year-old Syrian named Monzer al-Kassar, a/k/a the "Prince of Marbella," has been known to entertain visitors with lamb and dolmas beneath murals of turbaned African servants. But they hadn't come for the cuisine. They were there to talk about killing Americans.

For 30 years, Monzer al-Kassar has been linked to some of history's most notorious international arms deals and terrorist atrocities. He has been accused of aiding in the attempted assassination of an Israeli spy; supplying the weapons used in the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro luxury liner; and seeding the Somali and Bosnian civil wars with countless AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. Swiss and Spanish officials have repeatedly tried to prosecute him for murder and money laundering, and a small group of private investigators, in conjunction with the United Nations and such groups as Human Rights Watch, have worked to expose his international network of offshore companies, crooked port officials, and Eastern European arms manufacturers. Each time, Kassar beat the rap and returned to his hacienda on the Spanish coast.

Interesting article on arm's dealing and how the fedeal government was able to pull off the arrest a well known dealer in Spain.

One statement from the article did stick out though: "...but the U.S. government only created an elaborate trap to capture him after he meddled in the president's adventure in Iraq." I read that line and thought to myself how completely unnecessary that phrasing was, especially labeling OIF as "the president's adventure." However, I understand that this is the Village Voice so I'm sure that even the movie listings and restuarant reviews have some negative political statements about President Bush. Additionally, statements of that nature are few and far between in the article and therefore do not degrade the overall quality of the piece.

Since he is also mentioned in the Village Voice article, I tried to link to the peice on Viktor Bout from Foreign Policy a couple months ago but you have to be a subscriber to get to it from their website. If you have access to an archive or a database that carries Foreign Policy the article was titled "The Merchant of Death" and was also a good read.

tequila
07-27-2007, 10:35 AM
This Frontline (http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/sierraleone/breakingnews.html)piece has a ton of interesting info. Still the best TV around IMO.

bourbon
07-27-2007, 07:25 PM
Since he is also mentioned in the Village Voice article, I tried to link to the peice on Viktor Bout from Foreign Policy a couple months ago but you have to be a subscriber to get to it from their website. If you have access to an archive or a database that carries Foreign Policy the article was titled "The Merchant of Death" and was also a good read.

Thanks for the Voice article. The article you mention is available in PDF (http://www.douglasfarah.com/pdfs/bout.pdf) at Douglas Farah's website (http://www.douglasfarah.com/). Two other good Bout articles I keep in my files are:

Arms and the Man (http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/wanted/2003/0817arms.htm), By Peter Landesman. New York Times, August 17, 2003.
The Merchant of Death (http://www.publicintegrity.org/bow/report.aspx?aid=157), in Making a Killing: The Business of War by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Tc2642
07-28-2007, 03:04 AM
Jesus, this bloke seems to be the real life version of the arms dealer Nicholas Cage portrayed in Lord of War, slightly off topic but i'ts an excellent film and well worth watching.

bourbon
07-28-2007, 08:00 PM
Jesus, this bloke seems to be the real life version of the arms dealer Nicholas Cage portrayed in Lord of War, slightly off topic but i'ts an excellent film and well worth watching.
Bout was the inspiration for Lord of War. They also rented one of his Antonov's to use in the film.

bourbon
11-21-2007, 06:40 PM
This article is about our own "merchant of death" during the cold war: Ernst Werner Glatt. Pretty incredible story. Glatt, a German national, did the CIA and DIA's gun running around the world while amassing a small fortune. According to the article he also was a major source in our foreign material acquisition programs.

Licensed to Kill: Shadowing our Government's Favorite Arms Dealer, by Ken Silverstein. Harper's, May 2000. (PDF (http://download64.mediafire.com/mrc9djwjnfkg/8rlus5m2m1z/glatt+article.pdf))

Tom Odom
03-06-2008, 04:59 PM
Although I never met him, I know Stan and I looked at his A/C


Russian arms dealer arrested in Thailand (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/06/russian.arrest/index.html)

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- For years, Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout has made millions of dollars allegedly delivering weapons and ammunition to warlords and militants. Officials believe many of his activities may be illegal, and on Thursday, Thai police announced his arrest.


Thai police escort Viktor Bout as he arrives at the Crime Suppression Bureau in Bangkok.

1 of 2 Bout, 41, has made his deliveries to Africa, Asia and the Mideast, using obsolete or surplus Soviet-era cargo planes.

A formal announcement on his arrest is expected later in the day in New York.

He was picked up in Bangkok but neither police nor U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Cynthia Brown had details on his arrest.

"We can confirm he has been arrested in Bangkok, and we congratulate the Thai authorities on making this arrest," Brown said.

Intelligence agencies around the world have tracked Bout for years. While some of his work has been legitimate, most has not.

ancien
03-12-2008, 01:12 PM
Don't mind the flemish commentary. The clip shows a armsdelivery for Bemba in 1999. Bemba, in his best takes the journalist a long.

LINK (http://www.deredactie.be/cm/de.redactie/mediatheek/1.265150?mode=popupplayer&clickedMediaId=http://www.deredactie.be/cm/de.redactie/mediatheek/1.265150&fullscreen=false)

Tom Odom
03-12-2008, 01:41 PM
Thanks Ancien


Watching that was a trip down memory lane...

Tom

ancien
03-12-2008, 02:21 PM
Your welcome ;)

I think it is the same journalist from your boattrip in lake Kivu :D

Tom Odom
03-12-2008, 02:42 PM
Your welcome ;)

I think it is the same journalist from your boattrip in lake Kivu :D

Could be :-)

I was on Belge TV as the US Advisor to the RPA :D

Tom

ancien
03-12-2008, 04:46 PM
I remember something of that newsclip, I think it is patially online somewhere.


This link (http://users.skynet.be/cleanostend/clos_en.htm) shows some of the activities of Bout at the Ostend airport.
At the bottem of the page there is a list of his airfleet.
I don't now if the information is correct but it sure gives a vieuw of the complexity.

regards

bourbon
03-31-2008, 09:45 PM
Yair Klein: Russia's "Other" Viktor Bout; Weapons, Cocaine, Israelis And Oligarchs (http://www.exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=17982&IBLOCK_ID=35), By Yasha Levine. The eXile, March 28, 2008.

Stan
05-06-2008, 06:49 PM
Mr Bout denies he is an arms dealer and says he runs a legitimate business :rolleyes:


The US has charged an alleged Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7386523.stm), with four counts of terrorism, saying he tried to sell weapons to Colombia's Farc rebels.

The US indictment against Mr Bout charges him with conspiring to sell millions of dollars of weapons to the Farc, conspiracy to kill US nationals, conspiracy to kill US military officers, and conspiracy to acquire and use surface-to-air missiles, AFP news agency reported.

"Viktor Bout has long been considered by the international community as one of the world's most prolific arms traffickers," said US attorney Michael Garcia in New York, announcing the indictment.

Old Eagle
05-06-2008, 07:43 PM
I want to hear from Vic Bout!!

What/who are you?:D

Vic Bout
05-06-2008, 08:03 PM
that maybe I need to re-invent myself...kinda like Madonna or the artist formerly known as Prince. Never knew my nom de guerre would cause me so much self-induced angst.

Stan
05-06-2008, 08:08 PM
I think Nicolas Cage did a much better job in his 2005 film as Jüri Orlov.

Vic, is your middle name Vasilevich :cool:

davidbfpo
08-11-2009, 02:05 PM
Just popped up: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/world/asia/12bangkok.html?_r=2&ref=world

davidbfpo

davidbfpo
10-12-2009, 04:26 PM
After months as Thai lawyers and judges engage with the issues this appears: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/08/braun-thai-court-considering-merchant-of-death-rel/

The title says it all. Well no, if released will Viktor Bout be even more of a threat to the USA?

davidbfpo

Stan
10-12-2009, 04:49 PM
After months as Thai lawyers and judges engage with the issues this appears: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/08/braun-thai-court-considering-merchant-of-death-rel/

The title says it all. Well no, if released will Viktor Bout be even more of a threat to the USA?

davidbfpo

And all this despite Colombian appeals (http://en.rian.ru/world/20090924/156237983.html) just last month (with far more harsh tones than the USA ever conceived).



In a 300-page letter from Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez, Bout is described as "a very dangerous illegal arms dealer" and suspected of attempting to sell 100 Russian-made 9K38 Igla man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missiles (NATO code name Grouse missile) to FARC.

"We would like to draw attention to the on-going legal process in which, as we hope, the [Thai] authorities will not be able to release such an illegal arms dealer as Viktor Bout, who is dangerous to the entire world," the letter read.

More at the link...

davidbfpo
08-20-2010, 07:36 AM
BBC radio reports this:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11033781 and elsewhere:http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/08/201082041458232198.html

When he is aboard a plane to the USA, then I will be pleased.

Kevin23
08-20-2010, 06:24 PM
It looks like that after a long detention in Thailand, prolific(and many would say infamous) Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is going to be extradited to the US. Diplomatically and legally according to news reports the extradition of the former Soviet Air Force officer is viewed as a victory for the Obama Administration in which legal actions against Bout were pursued by Washington way before 2009/2010. However, many within Russia's military and intelligence apparatuses are alarmed over this developments and do not want Bout going on trial in the United States.

Here is the link,

http://www.military.com/news/article/thais-to-extradite-merchant-of-death-to-us.html

davidbfpo
08-24-2010, 08:35 AM
Hat tip to FP blog:
The world’s most notoroious arms dealer is coming to America to stand trial. And that has Russia very worried.

Link:http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/20/what_does_viktor_bout_know

I don't suppose the USA will permit a "swap" and this article indicates it could be quite a high price. Ah, the armchair speculator.

davidbfpo
11-16-2010, 11:40 PM
After a delay CNN reports he is flying to the USA:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/16/thailand.extradition/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_world

One wonders what he will be charged with and what happens at his trial. Leaving aside the Russian reaction of course.

davidbfpo
08-22-2011, 10:02 AM
A story on Viktor Bout's legal process:http://www.npr.org/2011/08/17/139676521/alleged-arms-dealers-past-debated-before-trial

davidbfpo
11-03-2011, 04:47 PM
A CNN report on Viktor Bout:http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/02/justice/new-york-bout-trial/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Note the Federal jury has convicted him, no sentence has been passed.

A thoughtful CNN background comment:http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/31/viktor-bout-and-arms-smuggling-airplanes/?iref=allsearch

Update 4/11/2011:
Bout is due to be sentenced on February 8 and faces up to life in prison.

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/8866355/Russia-will-seek-to-bring-Viktor-Bout-home.html

Russian ire at the decision:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/03/russia-us-jailing-viktor-bout

jmm99
11-03-2011, 07:41 PM
From the DoJ Press Release (http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/November/11-ag-1442.html):


Bout was convicted today of [1] conspiring to kill U.S. nationals; [2] conspiring to kill U.S. officers and employees; [3] conspiring to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles; and [4] conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
....
Between November 2007 and March 2008, Bout agreed to sell to the FARC millions of dollars’ worth of weapons – including 800 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), 30,000 AK-47 firearms, 10 million rounds of ammunition, five tons of C-4 plastic explosives, “ultralight” airplanes outfitted with grenade launchers and unmanned aerial vehicles. Bout agreed to sell the weapons to two confidential sources working with the DEA (the “CSs”), who represented that they were acquiring them for the FARC, with the specific understanding that the weapons were to be used to attack U.S. helicopters in Colombia.
....
Bout faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on counts one through three, including a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison for count three. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison on count four.

Although the Federal Judge, Shira Scheindlin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shira_Scheindlin), appears to be a liberal (based on prior decisions), anything but life sentences on counts 1-3 would be surprising. But then, I've been surprised a number of times - especially by U of Michigan coeds (Judge Scheindlin was at the Univ of Mich at the same time as I). :)

Regards

Mike

M-A Lagrange
11-04-2011, 03:41 PM
According to Georges Starkmann, Bout was a "logistician" more than a weapon dealer.
This is based on the fact that Bount had several aviation companies.

Testimonies from Georges Starkmann have to be taken with caution, Bout was one of his concurrent. :rolleyes:

bourbon
07-30-2012, 07:22 PM
Viktor Bout’s Gunrunning Successors: A Lethal Game of Catch Me if You Can (http://conflictawareness.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ConflictAwarenessProjectReport-23July2012.pdf). Conflict Awareness Project, July 2012. (PDF)

davidbfpo
08-06-2012, 08:51 PM
Thanks to a "lurker" who found this - well - different prison interview of Viktor Bout, which appeared a month ago on an obscure website:http://worldmathaba.net/items/1141-world-exclusive-first-marion-il-prison-interview-with-viktor-bout

The journalist is a George Mapp, who writes this slim bio sketch:
In his fascinating new book, Drug Smugglers, Gun Runners, Russian Intelligence Officers and Terrorists’ Wives, George Mapp describes how he went from an international equity trader on Wall Street, to massage therapist to international globe trotter to an accused terrorist.

His unique book will discuss international travel to exotic destinations, a spiritual journey, love affairs, diverse cultures, religious clashes, drugs, terrorism, intelligence agencies, spies, lies and spy games as well as his eye witness account of 9/11.

davidbfpo
07-28-2014, 08:43 PM
A really strange story about Viktor Bout and a forthcoming film, which emphasise his non-gunrunning life:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10991892/Viktor-Bout-husband-father-arms-dealer.html