Merchant of Death To Face Justice In US

Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer who was captured in Thailand in 2008, will face a federal judge in New York today on weapons charges.

Bout, who says he's a legitimate businessman, faces U.S. charges accusing him of having a gunrunning empire — a prosecution that American officials describe as a milestone in international efforts to cripple the flow of illicit weapons that fuel conflicts around the world.

The U.S. Department of Justice said an indictment charges Bout with four terrorism offenses: conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, conspiracy to kill U.S. officers or employees, conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile and conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

'Unprecedented political pressure'
The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted with strong words after Bout was hustled from a Thai prison to a waiting jet early Tuesday. Russia branded the extradition "unlawful," prompted by "unprecedented political pressure from the USA."
Story: Russia blasts accused arms trafficker's extradition

Thai police commandos, clad in combat gear and masked by balaclavas, accompanied Bout to the tarmac at Bangkok's Don Muang airport. There, several Westerners wearing U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration jackets shepherded him onto the chartered jet.

The Russian government is angry at the US pursuing the extradition and potential trial of Bout. No doubt, a trial would have the potential to expose much about the shady world of arms dealers and connections with the Russian government. So, this news might also affect US-Russian relations, including on arms control deals and fighting terrorism across South Asia.

Scoping Anna Fermanova's Case

While Anna Fermanova's lawyers claim that the only reason that people are interested in her case is because she's attractive (not that there's anything wrong with that) and the sympathy she's garnered from the Russian community in Texas, the fact is that she was caught smuggling three night vision scopes out of the United States without proper paperwork/permits, and that experts believe that the only use for those particular models is to aid snipers in hitting targets a mile away.

Latvian-born lovely Anna Fermanova told federal agents she bought the three night-vision scopes for her husband's hunting pals in Russia.

Gun experts said yesterday her story doesn't make sense.

"These are used specifically for an assassination," said security consultant Bo Dietl, a former NYPD detective. "You're not going to hunt deer with a super scope. That's crazy.

"You could take someone out with one of these scopes in the dead of night from up to a mile-and-a-half-away," he said. "I have friends in Iraq who use these. These are the real deal."

Dan Wasserbly, a weapons expert with Jane's International Defence Review, said the $7,000 Raptor 4X Night Vision Weapons Sight that Fermanova had is so advanced the average U.S. soldier wouldn't use one.

And it's used for automatic assault weapons, not hunting rifles. "It's a piece of serious military hardware," he said.

In other words, her claims don't pass the smell test, which is why she's currently under house arrest after her passport was taken to prevent her leaving the country. She's likely to enter a not guilty plea in the case but no court date has been sent.

News You Can Use: Sexy Russian Weapons Dealer Charged In Smuggling Night Vision Goggles

Say privyet to Anna Fermanova. She's a Russian weapons dealer who was busted for trying to export night vision goggles out of the US to Russia in violation of export control laws.

A fashionable young Russian expatriate is facing a federal felony charge for allegedly trying to smuggle state-of-the-art night vision scopes to Moscow. The weapons sights cannot be exported without approval from the Department of State since the items are considered munitions covered by the Arms Export Control Act.

Anna Fermanova, 24, was arrested earlier this month when she returned to the United States after spending four months overseas. She was charged with “knowingly and intentionally” attempting to export “from the United States to Russia defense articles on the United States Munitions list.”

Arguing that there was a “serious risk” that Fermanova would flee the country, federal prosecutors in Dallas asked a magistrate judge to jail her without bail. That request was denied by Judge Renee Harris Toliver, who released Fermanova on $50,000 bond, but seized her passport and placed her on 24-hour-a-day home incarceration.

It used to be that weapons dealers were middle aged white guys who were balding and were overweight - or at least that was how they were portrayed in movies. She also has a Facebook page. More photos are here.

Merchant of Death Nabbed In Thailand

Viktor Bout, a major arms dealer, was arrested in Thailand by the authorities there. The guy has ties to some of the worst scum on the planet, including Liberia's Charles Taylor (currently on trial for war crimes/crimes against humanity), the Taliban, and all other kinds of baddies.

According to U.S. officials, Bout -- a former Soviet air force officer who speaks multiple languages -- has what is reputed to be the largest private fleet of Soviet-era cargo aircraft in the world.

Bout acquired the planes shortly after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the U.S. Department of Treasury said in 2005.

At that time, the U.S. Treasury announced it was freezing the assets of Bout and his associates who are all tied to former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Taylor is currently on trial at the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague.

Intelligence officials said he shipped large quantities of small arms to civil wars across Africa and Asia, often taking diamonds in payment from West African fighters.

British intelligence officials found evidence in Afghanistan that Bout had shipped arms to the Taliban and al Qaeda, as well as circumstantial evidence that he shipped weapons technology into Iraq.

And the U.S. government said it received information that Bout profited $50 million from supplying the Taliban with military equipment when they ruled Afghanistan.

Bout -- who is said to be the inspiration for Nicholas Cage's character in the movie, "Lord of War" -- told CNN in an interview in 2002 that he never sold arms to the Taliban or the al Qaeda terrorist network. He also denied providing weapons and missile guidance technology to Iraq.

Why would he admit to providing weapons to the Taliban or Al Qaeda? Arms dealers aren't exactly going to shout out about their links to global terrorist organizations or those who provided them shelter in the past? That's not exactly the way you stay out of trouble or gain new clients, so I discount his statements to CNN as nothing more than a smokescreen.

UPDATE:
The New York Times notes that Bout had links to FARC as well:

One of the world’s most notorious arms dealers, suspected of supplying weapons to the Taliban and Al Qaeda and of pouring huge arms shipments into Africa’s civil wars with his own private air fleet, was arrested by Thai authorities in a hotel here Thursday. His capture was prompted by a tipoff from the United States in connection with the procurement of weapons for the Colombian FARC rebels.

The DEA tipped off the Thai authorities to his presence and a Thai security official claims that American counter-terrorism officials are questioning him.