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From: bxr307@csc.anu.edu.au
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: dutch patriots transported by the soviet union
Message-ID: <1991Jan23.043507.7401@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 23 Jan 91 04:35:07 GMT
References: <1991Jan18.003442.8516@cbnews.att.com>
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From: bxr307@csc.anu.edu.au
In article <1991Jan18.003442.8516@cbnews.att.com>, A6014LHG%HASARA11.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (Leo Geesink) writes:
> 
> Yesterday, the two Dutch patriot squadrons left for Turkey. Due to the fact
> that the US didn't have the transport capacity and the Royal Netherlands
> Army doesn't have planes like the galaxy, the only way to get the missiles
> in turkey was by means of a soviet 'commercial' transport company.

	This is not that unusual.  During the early 1980's when the large F16
NATO building program was underway in Europe components for the aircraft were
transported by ship to Europe.  The US merchant service was unable apparently
to supply enough ships due to committments elsewhere so the job went out to
tender.  Guess who has the larges merchant marine in the world and won the job?
You guessed right, the Soviet Union!  ;-)


Brian Ross