Didn’t Ship Gear to Iraq, Firm Says
A lawyer for International Imaging Systems said Wednesday that the company never sent advanced electronic imaging equipment to Iraq, although it received a license to do so from the Commerce Department.
“The order dried up well over a year before the license was approved,” said George M. Rehm, an attorney for the Milpitas, Calif., firm. “The Iraqi government had centralized all of its remote sensing research in Baghdad.”
The equipment, used to interpret and enhance satellite photographs, had been destined for a research institute in Mosul, Iraq. Defense Department objections had blocked its sale for more than four years.
A former Pentagon official and a government official said Monday that the equipment had been shipped despite Pentagon objections that it could be used by Iraq for military purposes.
Company officials refused to return telephone calls about the material for several days. On Monday, the company vice president for finance, Tony Musladin, hung up on a reporter; the story was published Tuesday in The Times.
Rehm disputed the assertion that the equipment was intended for military use. He said it was only to be used for mapping soils and for geologic studies.
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