Utah gunmaker turns down $15 million deal with Pakistan

[madooxno9]

WEST VALLEY CITY (Utah): A Utah-based gun manufacturer has turned down a $15 million deal to supply Pakistan with precision rifles, citing concerns they could eventually be used against US troops.

Mike Davis, sales manager at Desert Tech, said the company was on a short list for a contract with Pakistan, but spurned the opportunity because of unrest in Pakistan and ethical concerns.

It was a difficult decision because of the amount of money involved, he said, and the sale of rifles to Pakistan would have been legal.

"We don't know that those guns would've went somewhere bad, but with the unrest we just ended up not feeling right about it," Davis told KTVX-TV.

The company, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, was founded in 2007 on the principle of keeping America and its allies safe, he added.

"As a business owner you always want to be successful, but I think ethically and morally you want to go about it the right way and stick behind your founding principles," Davis told KSL.

Weapons sales to allies such as Pakistan are nothing new but they can be complicated, especially in a country with an al-Qaida presence. The US often targets al-Qaida, Taliban members and their Pakistani supporters in the country's tribal regions.

"I've got to admire Desert Tech for potentially turning down what could have been a very lucrative contract in the interest of protecting American service members," said Col Steven R Watt of the Utah National Guard.

The rifles can change caliber within minutes and have the capacity to shoot as far as 3,000 yards (2,740 metres).

 

[Armstrong]

@jhungary - I'm so hurt !

Alright now I ain't gonna drink any more Coca Cola - I alone could probably drink a million dollars worth of it in one year !

 

[patriotpakistan]

Our intelligence agency should start an espionage operation against them and their tech should be stolen. If we don't get the tech the polite way, we should get it the other way.

 

[Slayer786]

@jhungary - I'm so hurt !

Alright now I ain't gonna drink any more Coca Cola - I alone could probably drink a million dollars worth of it in one year !

Well I will just give my coke an evil eye and curse it before drinking mine.

 

[Pulsar]

The rifles can change caliber within minutes and have the capacity to shoot as far as 3,000 yards (2,740 metres).

How? By changing barrels? What's the point carrying additional barrels adding to the weight of a soldier? Stupid idea!

And how accurate is it at 3000m? Is it a sniper rifle with a telescopic site? Without this site it is of no use to man or beast, because you can't see a guy at 3 km!

 

[IceCold]

A very worrisome trend has recently been seen in the US, from their movies to tv serials, they all show a US attack on Pakistan one way or the other. The company withdrawing from a rifles deal shows that this is not limited to Hollywood only any more.
US does see Pakistan as a future threat, only if the fools this nation brought to power could realize this and eventually prepare themselves.

 

[Contrarian]

A very admirable move by the Company.

As mentioned in the article, it would have been difficult to refuse a $15 million deal, but a credit to their morals.

 

[forcetrip]

An arms supplier with a conscious? If there was US approval there would not be any story. The deal was blocked by the US and this became a media opportunity to bang the brownies.

 

[Mav3rick]

A very worrisome trend has recently been seen in the US, from their movies to tv serials, they all show a US attack on Pakistan one way or the other. The company withdrawing from a rifles deal shows that this is not limited to Hollywood only any more.
US does see Pakistan as a future threat, only if the fools this nation brought to power could realize this and eventually prepare themselves.

On the contrary, recent movies and game trends suggests that there is an increasing number of people that believe terrorism is state sponsored to coerce their own country and sometimes even their own Government into submission, acquire additional funds, resources and power etc., this is the main theme of the supremely popular game GTAV, movies such as "White House Down", TV Shows such as Last Resort etc.

 

[Tayyab1796]

I consider Americans to be the most patriotic nation on earth .

 

[Kompromat]

Duplicate thread.

 

[blain2]

Pakistan rubbishes US gun maker's claim of spurning $15m rifle deal over ethics
By Web Desk
Published: January 10, 2014
Share this article Print this page Email

Pakistan was seeking purchase of $15 million worth of precision rifles. PHOTO: FILE

WASHINGTON DC: Pakistani embassy in Washington DC on Friday rubbished reports that an American gun manufacturer had declined a potential $15 million deal to provide precision rifles over fears they may be ultimately used against US soldiers.

According to the statement released by the Pakistan embassy spokesperson on Friday, the Utah gun maker Desert Tech, never even made it to the shortlist and that all reports to the contrary were baseless.

The statement added that Desert Tech had initially shown interest in securing the deal.

“Desert Tech’s first and foremost ethical responsibility should be honesty,” the statement read. The spokesperson alleged that the company had clearly violated ethics by fabricating a story that at best was a publicity stunt.

Pakistan and the US enjoy a productive and mutually beneficial defence partnership, now for decades – a relationship that has been particularly critical more recently in fighting terrorists and in protecting our two peoples, the statement added.

“Any insinuation to the contrary is unwarranted and misguided.”

Earlier in January, Mike Davis, sales manager at Desert Tech, had said that company was on a short list for a contract with Pakistan, but spurned the opportunity because of unrest in Pakistan and ethical concerns.

“We don’t know that those guns would’ve went somewhere bad, but with the unrest we just ended up not feeling right about it,” Davis had told KTVX-TV, even though the sale would have been legal.

The company, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, was founded in 2007 on the principle of keeping America and its allies safe, he added.

“As a business owner you always want to be successful, but I think ethically and morally you want to go about it the right way and stick behind your founding principles,” Davis told KSL.