Booga Booga! Terrorist PS2s!!!!

Remember THIS scare tactic?:



Why Iraq's buying up Sony PlayStation 2s
Intelligence experts fear games bundled for military applications


By Joseph Farah
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com 

Many American kids may be disappointed on Christmas morning because the 
Sony PlayStation 2 they wanted wound up in Iraq. 

Both the U.S. Customs Service and the FBI are investigating the apparent 
transfer of large numbers of Sony PlayStation 2s to Iraq, according to 
military intelligence sources. 

A secret Defense Intelligence Agency report states that as many as 4,000 
of the popular video game units have been purchased in the United States 
and shipped to Iraq in the last two to three months. 

What gives? Does Saddam Hussein have an extraordinarily long Christmas 
shopping list? And why would U.S. military and intelligence officials be 
concerned about such a transfer? 

Two government agencies are investigating the purchases because the 
PlayStations can be bundled together into a sort of crude super-computer 
and used for a variety of military applications, say intelligence 
sources. 

"Most Americans don't realize that each PlayStation unit contains a CPU 
-- every bit as powerful as the processor found in most desktop and 
laptop computers," said one military intelligence officer who declined to 
be identified. "Beyond that, the graphics capabilities of a PlayStation 
are staggering -- five times more powerful than that of a typical 
graphics workstation, and roughly 15 times more powerful than the 
graphics cards found in most PCs." 

A single PlayStation can generate up to 75 million polygons per second. 
Polygons, as noted in the DIA report, are the basic units used to 
generate the surface of 3-D models -- extremely useful in military design 
and modeling applications. 

"When I first saw this report, I was highly skeptical," said an 
intelligence source. "So, I did some checking with computer experts I 
know within the Department of Defense. From what they tell me, bundling 
these video game units is very feasible." 

Additionally, Sony will make the process even easier with planned 
upgrades to the system. Beginning early next year, you can purchase a 
plug-in, 3.5 gig hard drive for the PlayStation, along with interface 
units that allow integration into the World Wide Web. If the Iraqis have 
trouble developing military software for the PlayStation computer system, 
they can probably find needed assistance on the Internet, say U.S. 
intelligence sources. 

What could Iraq do with such a primitive super-computer constructed with 
Sony PlayStation 2s? 

"Applications for this system are potentially frightening," said an 
intelligence source. "One expert I spoke with estimated that an 
integrated bundle of 12-15 PlayStations could provide enough computer 
power to control an Iraqi unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV -- a pilotless 
aircraft." 

Iraq has been working on development of UAVs for several years as a 
possible platform for delivering chemical weapons, say intelligence 
experts. 

Bundled PlayStation computers could also be used to calculate ballistic 
data for long-range missiles, or in the design of nuclear weapons, they 
add. Iraq has long had difficulty calculating the potential yield of 
nuclear devices -- a critical requirement in designing such weapons. 
Networking these computers might provide a method for correcting this 
deficiency, said one intelligence source. 

So, why doesn't Saddam Hussein simply buy computers or workstations from 
friendly nations or on the black market? While this is a possibility, 
current United Nations sanctions prohibit the sale or transfer of 
virtually all types of computer hardware and technology to Iraq. However, 
computer-based video game systems -- like the PlayStation 2 -- are not 
included in the ban. Iraq's scientists and engineers have apparently 
found a convenient loophole in the U.N. sanctions. 

Defense experts say it is also relatively easy to smuggle PlayStations 
into Iraq, since customs inspectors don't view toys as potential military 
weapons. Jordanian and Turkish inspectors rarely examine "small" 
shipments under 100 pounds, making it possible to send large numbers of 
PlayStations into Iraq without arousing suspicion. 

The Sony PlayStation 2 is one of the most popular all-in-one home 
entertainment systems of its kind. At just over 4 pounds, it contains a 
300 MHz-driven, 128-bit CPU. In addition to a plethora of new games 
designed to utilize PlayStation 2's hardware, it can play games from the 
original PlayStation's library, audio compact discs and DVD movies. 

Not only has Saddam Hussein apparently found a creative way around the 
computer embargo, he has helped to exacerbate the Sony PlayStation 2 
shortage reported in many parts of the United States. eToys.com and other 
e-tailers are sold out of the units and not expecting any more shipments 
in time for Christmas. 



Joseph Farah is editor and chief executive officer of WorldNetDaily.com.




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