<nettime> Saddam grabbing PlayStation 2s for weapons

[Are Flagan <areflagan@transcodex.net>]

Just as the hateful comedy hack Dennis Miller wants to unleash the Nintendo
generation in the War on Terror, old stories reemerge to ignite the upcoming
cyberwar. Not only did Saddam, allegedly, plan to pilot his experimental
heaps of duct tape and balsawood courtesy of Sony, he was to blame for PS2
_shortages_, that's right, a crime worse than any in the days just before
Christmas (story originally filed on Dec. 19).

-af  

+ + + + +

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_148960.html

Saddam grabbing PlayStation 2s for weapons

US defence experts believe Saddam Hussein may be building a weapons
supercomputer from Sony PlayStation 2s.

Individual units of the powerful games console can be linked up and boosted
so their computing powers can be used to design and control long-range
missiles or even nuclear devices.

A leaked US Defence Intelligence Agency report confirms that up to 4,000 of
the consoles have been shipped to Iraq in the last three months.

Both US Customs and the FBI are investigating.

The news confirms the worst fears of the Japanese government, which first
warned of the potential danger of the high-specification PlayStation 2 eight
months ago. 

Experts say that the PlayStation 2 designers may have unwittingly built a
machine ideal for weapons work because its technology is so advanced.

Exports of the console to Iraq are illegal in Japan.

One source tells WorldNet Daily : "Applications for this system are
potentially frightening. One expert I spoke with estimated that an
integrated bundle of 12 to 15 PlayStations could provide enough power to
control an Iraqi unmanned aerial vehicle."

It is believed Saddam Hussein may have exacerbated the Sony PlayStation 2
shortage. 

Story filed: 12:31 Tuesday 19th December 2000

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