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NBC News Says Iraqis Buying Up Playstations

Government sources told NBC News that an informant warned U.S. Customs a month ago that an organized group with ties to Iraq was buying thousands of PlayStations from toy stores in Detroit.

Alex Dunne, Blogger

December 22, 2000

1 Min Read
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The informant claimed the video games were shipped to Baghdad, for the Iraqi military, to be used in their weapons systems. Federal investigators soon discovered like most holiday shoppers, the unidentified group could not find PS2, but did buy up 1,400 of the original PlayStations. However, they can’t confirm whether these 1400 PSX systems were actually shipped to Iraq. Military experts say PlayStations could provide the kind of sophisticated graphics for missile guidance systems, or remote control of pilotless drones for surveillance or bombing runs. Because there are no export controls on sophisticated computer toys, they’re available to anyone.

Source: NBC News

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About the Author

Alex Dunne

Blogger

Alex Dunne is the executive producer of Gamasutra.

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