Iraq using Jordan as front for importing U.S. military equipment

WASHINGTON — Iraq is using Jordan as a front for the import of dual-use equipment for Baghdad's military programs.

U.S. officials said the regime of President Saddam Hussein has used Jordanian companies to purchase U.S. computer and other dual-use systems. The equipment is then brought from Jordan to Iraq.

The illegal imports come through the Jordanian port of Aqaba, the officials said. They said many of the purchases of banned equipment to Iraq are conducted through the United Nations oil-for-food program.

The extent of the illegal exports has not been disclosed. But officials point to a 1999 incident in which a U.S. company was sent an order from a New York agent for thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment for shipment. Later, executives learned that the actual destination was Iraq.

The issue was addressed in a recent report by the U.S. Commerce Department. "Methods of operation employed to circumvent the export-control process include: the use front companies within the United States and abroad, the illegal transportation of goods to an undisclosed end user by utilizing third country cut-outs or false end-user certificates, and the purchase of an exportable version of a product and then having it modified during the manufacturing process to meet the specifications of the export-controlled version," the report said.