Contract leaves Pentagon with poorly armored cars, little recourse

Contract leaves Pentagon with poorly armored cars, little recourse
By Seth Borenstein, Knight Ridder Newspapers
1 hour, 40 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - When the Pentagon went shopping for seven armored cars for senior Iraqi policemen, U.S. officials turned to an Iraqi supplier to provide them with some hardened Mercedes-Benzes.

After spending nearly $1 million, here's what they got: Six vehicles with bad armor and run-down mechanics. They also were a little more than slightly used: The newest model was a 1996; the oldest a 1994.

According to the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, the seventh auto is missing.

In a report released Monday, the inspector general said the Pentagon couldn't get its money back because it did such a bad job negotiating the no-bid deal.

In June, the Pentagon's Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq bought the seven Mercedes-Benzes for $135,000 each. They were supposed to include high-quality armor that could withstand high-velocity rifle shots.

The sheet plates provided were something less.

"The armoring of the vehicles appears to be of low standard and provides only limited safety to the occupants of the vehicle," the military command unit's own mechanics wrote, according to the inspector general's report.

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