190,000 weapons Given to Iraqis are Missing

Source: Washington Post

The Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, according to a new government report, raising fears that some of those weapons have fallen into the hands of insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20137021/

That's one and 1/3 rifles for every man and women in our Armed Forces currently serving in Iraq.

The arms race continues. I can't wait for them to hit the streets our country. Good grief.

Again, this appears to be poor planing and coordination on the part of the Administration. How could they allow that many weapons to go missing? 30% is not a small number.

about a year ago.


Many US weapons in Iraq missing Oct 29 2006
Government report: About 14,000 weapons — 1 in 25 — unaccounted for.

The Associated Press Updated: 3:42 p.m. CT Oct 29, 2006

WASHINGTON - Nearly one of every 25 weapons the U.S. military bought for Iraqi security forces is missing and many others cannot be repaired because parts or technical manuals are lacking, a government audit said Sunday.

The Defense Department cannot account for 14,030 weapons — almost 4 percent of the semiautomatic pistols, assault rifles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other weapons it began supplying to Iraq since the end of 2003, according to a report from the office of the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

The missing semiautomatic pistols, assault rifles, machine guns and other weapons will not be tracked easily: The Defense Department registered the serial numbers of only about 10,000 of the 370,251 weapons it provided — less than 3 percent.

more at link http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15474042/

the insurgents have penetrated the iraqi security and police forces top to bottom

From OP article.

The GAO reached the estimate of 190,000 missing arms -- 110,000 AK-47s and 80,000 pistols -- by comparing the property records of the Multi-National Security Transition Command for Iraq against records Petraeus maintained of the arms and equipment he had ordered. Petraeus's figures were compared with classified data and other records to ensure that it was accurate enough to compare against the property books.

In all cases, the gaps between the two records were enormous. Petraeus reported that about 185,000 AK-47 rifles, 170,000 pistols, 215,000 pieces of body armor and 140,000 helmets were issued to Iraqi security forces from June 2004 through September 2005. But the property books contained records for 75,000 AK-47 rifles, 90,000 pistols, 80,000 pieces of body armor and 25,000 helmets.

And note this DID NOT happen during Clinton administration during Bosnian conflict!/i]

During the Bosnian conflict, the United States provided about $100 million in defense equipment to the Bosnian Federation Army, and the GAO found no problems in accounting for those weapons.

on all counts.

and Iran's fault too.

This would be funny if it was so damn bad .... those weapons are no doubt
shooting @ our troops.

this is incredible corruption and incompetence

Source: WaPo

Weapons Given to Iraq Are Missing
GAO Estimates 30% of Arms Are Unaccounted For

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 6, 2007; A01

The Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, according to a new government report, raising fears that some of those weapons have fallen into the hands of insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq.

The report from the Government Accountability Office indicates that U.S. military officials do not know what happened to 30 percent of the weapons the United States distributed to Iraqi forces from 2004 through early this year as part of an effort to train and equip the troops. The highest previous estimate of unaccounted-for weapons was 14,000, in a report issued last year by the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

The United States has spent $19.2 billion trying to develop Iraqi security forces since 2003, the GAO said, including at least $2.8 billion to buy and deliver equipment. But the GAO said weapons distribution was haphazard and rushed and failed to follow established procedures, particularly from 2004 to 2005, when security training was led by Gen. David H. Petraeus, who now commands all U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Pentagon did not dispute the GAO findings, saying it has launched its own investigation and indicating it is working to improve tracking. Although controls have been tightened since 2005, the inability of the United States to track weapons with tools such as serial numbers makes it nearly impossible for the U.S. military to know whether it is battling an enemy equipped by American taxpayers.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/05/AR2007080501299.html?hpid=topnews

This is the same bullshit that happened when the military initially went into Iraq and the WH refused to let them secure the weapons and ammo facilities....and we know the result of that....those weapons and munitions were and still are being used against our troops. Unbelievable....

...are just plain stupid :wtf:

the Shiites primarily.

Where's the hue and cry over Repug wasting our money? Seems to me they were/are the ones always crying about how Democrats waste the taxpayers money.

Yeah, let's spend the money on weapons for other countries while our bridges collapse here. This country is so screwed up.

Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:


Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:


Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault Bill Clinton's fault

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

I'm ready to throw my hands up and give up.

black market. :eyes: The Pentagon as well as the government are run by bumbling fools.

from what you said, it just makes this level of incompetence even more incredible. These guys are idiots!

They're probably in Texas someplace.

wonder where all that stuff ended up... any ideas? ;-)

Wasn't it later revealed that when our boys were busy looting the Iraqi's museums, we left the world's larger ammunition dump open for a garage sale?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningnews/main325985.shtml

-snip-

More money for the Pentagon, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports, while its own auditors admit the military cannot account for 25 percent of what it spends.

"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.

$2.3 trillion — that's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America. To understand how the Pentagon can lose track of trillions, consider the case of one military accountant who tried to find out what happened to a mere $300 million.

"We know it's gone. But we don't know what they spent it on," said Jim Minnery, Defense Finance and Accounting Service.

Minnery, a former Marine turned whistle-blower, is risking his job by speaking out for the first time about the millions he noticed were missing from one defense agency's balance sheets. Minnery tried to follow the money trail, even crisscrossing the country looking for records.

"The director looked at me and said 'Why do you care about this stuff?' It took me aback, you know? My supervisor asking me why I care about doing a good job," said Minnery.

He was reassigned and says officials then covered up the problem by just writing it off.

-snip-

More at link above...

I guess there where ever the $2.3 Trillion dollars is.

Many men sign up for the Iraqi Army.
They are issued weapons. They get a cash payment in US dollars.
They sell the gun for a couple hundred bucks to a Saudi-financed insurgent.

Then they disappear. They feed their family with the money.

When the money runs out, they join again using a different ID.

This has been going on for years.

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