Software :: Redirect Stdout To File Produces Blank File

I cannot redirect output from commands such as iptables, iptables-save, and ifconfig. For example, any of the following DOESN'T work ( as root ):

Code:
iptables > tmp
iptables-save > tmp
ifconfig > tmp
The file tmp is ALWAYS blank, that is, 0 bytes in size. Wackier things DO work, such as:

Code:
echo "`iptables-save`" > tmp
iptables-save | tee tmp
Other commands like:

Code:
ls > tmp
DO work as expected.

Note that this problem happens regardless if I log-in remotely via ssh or locally on the computer in question. I am clueless as to what is causing this. Any ideas?The box is running 2.6.25-14.fc9.i686 and boots to runlevel 3. The modifications I've made to the box since installing the OS are things like compiling/installing latest OpenSSH,OpenSSL,httpd,BerkeleyDB,subversion,zlib etc -- nothing really out of the ordinary I'd say.