Red Dragon Sanctuary » Military

Losing track of guns, losing track of Iraq?

oldreddragon — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:41:49 +0000

Losing track of guns, losing track of Iraq?

As the Pentagon is accused by US auditors of losing track of 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to the Iraqi security forces, the BBC’s Nick Childs considers what this means for US strategy.

This report is particularly embarrassing for the Pentagon, in part because the plan to train and equip new Iraqi security forces has been so central to its strategy in the country.

And, while it has been alleged before that weapons bound for the Iraqis have gone missing, the numbers in this report are striking.

The report comes from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) which is an independent US government agency that is essentially the watchdog and investigative arm for the US Congress.

The GAO says that, of some 185,000 assault rifles and 170,000 pistols that the Pentagon says it supplied to the Iraqi security forces, it can account for less than half: there is a discrepancy of 110,000 in the case of AK-47s, and 80,000 pistols.

The gaps in the figures for body armor and helmets are even bigger – only 80,000 out of a total of 215,000 sets of body armor accounted for, and only 25,000 out of 140,000 helmets.

The report does not say it knows what has happened to the weapons – only that there are gaping holes in the records.

Wrong hands?

The focus of the report is on perceived Pentagon failures but, by implication, it also raises questions about the capabilities and reliability of the Iraqi security forces. There is the fear, again long suspected, that many of the missing weapons have found their way into the hands of insurgents.

PENTAGON’S MISSING HARDWARE

AK-47 rifles: 110,000
Pistols: 80,000
Body armour pieces: 135,000
Helmets: 115,000

There remain question marks over the reliability of elements of the Iraqi security forces, especially the police.

Of course, the Pentagon was under huge pressure from early on to try to achieve quick results in its program to train and equip the Iraqi forces.

These faltered on more than one occasion and tracking what happened to the weaponry may not have been the top priority for limited resources.

In barely more than a month now, the top US military commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, and the US ambassador, Ryan Crocker, are meant to give their assessment of how the latest US strategy for the country is working.

This latest report may well provide more ammunition for the skeptics.

Gen Petraeus arrived in Iraq earlier this year with a huge reputation, not least because he was credited with turning round the training programme on his previous assignment to the country.

But he was also in charge of it for much of the time covered by this investigation – and that could damage his credibility.

Money request

Whether the Iraqi security forces are up to the job, and whether they have enough of the right equipment, remain keys issues for the way ahead in Iraq.

And the Pentagon has, according to the GAO report, asked for another $2bn for new equipment for those forces.

The Pentagon says it accepts key recommendations in the report on improving records and accountability, and that steps have been taken.

But the report says that, as of last month, the Pentagon had not specified what the accounting procedures were.

Story from BBC NEWS:

Pentagon loses track of 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols

oldreddragon — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:39:34 +0000

Feed the Bonzo another banana for this blunder. Is it any wonder why the conflict in Iraq is going as bad as it is. Now it seems we are not only supplying our boys with weapons. It looks like we are supplying the bad guys as well. Not that is surprises me. Now do we have to ask why the Pentagon needs the highest budget?? I think not. I really think we need to take the entire Bush administration along with the Pentagon staff, outfit them with the basic crap we give out fighting boys and dump them in the middle of Baghdad and let them sort this out. Lets just see how long they last.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Pentagon cannot account for 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, or about half the weapons earmarked for soldiers and police, according to a government report.

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, said in a July 31 report to lawmakers that the Defense Department also cannot account for 135,000 items of body armor and 115,000 helmets reported to be issued to Iraqi forces as of September 22, 2005.

The GAO said the Pentagon concurred with its findings and has begun a review to ensure full accountability for the program to train and equip Iraqi forces.

“However, our review of the 2007 property books found continuing problems with missing and incomplete records,” the GAO report said.

The report raised concerns that weapons provided by the United States could be falling into the hands of Iraqi insurgents, just as lawmakers and policymakers in Washington await a September report on the success of President Bush’s so-called “surge” strategy for stabilizing Baghdad.

One senior Pentagon official told The Washington Post some weapons probably were being used against U.S. troops. He said an Iraqi brigade created in Falluja disintegrated in 2004 and began fighting American soldiers.

Since 2003, the United States has provided about $19.2 billion to develop Iraqi security forces, the GAO said. The Defense Department has recently asked for another $2 billion to continue the train-and-equip program.

Congress funded the program for Iraqi security forces outside traditional security assistance programs, providing the Pentagon with a large degree of flexibility in managing the effort, the GAO said.

“Officials stated that since the funding did not go through traditional security assistance programs, the DOD accountability requirements normally applicable to these programs did not apply,” the GAO report said.

Military officials in Iraq reported issuing 355,000 weapons to Iraqi security forces from June 2004 through September 2005, including 185,000 rifles and 170,000 pistols, the GAO said.

But the Defense Department could not account for 110,000 rifles and 80,000 pistols, the GAO said. Those sums amount to about 54 percent of the total weapons distributed to the Iraqi forces.

The GAO quoted officials as saying the agency responsible for handling weapons distribution was too short-staffed to record information on individual items given to Iraqi forces.

Read the full story here: CNN Reports

Unbelievably, Soldiers Must Pay For Damaged Equipment

oldreddragon — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:47:41 +0000

As an ex Nam era vet ( yeah I served from 69 to 77 ) I think this is an absolutely disgusting way for the government and military to treat the boys that have served their time and put their lives on the line for our country. But then again coming from the era that I did. They did the same thing to those that served in Nam. Heroes my ass. We were just expendable siege fodder for the governmental greed machine.

Wake the fuck up America.

How long are you going to put up with this tyrannical crap from your government before you stand up for your selves and do something? You know.. I ~~USED~~ to believe that the good ole US of A was the best country in the world to live in. But the older I get and the more I see of how the Bill of Rights and the Constitution are being slowly and surely taken apart and destroyed. I am no longer that self assured wide eyed military son of Uncle Sam. We are falling apart at the seams here people. How long are We/You going to let this continue? How long before those boys get tired of being treated like this and just say NO MORE! In the end folks it is us who will pay the ultimate price for this governments greed.

This is just 1 case. How many more are out there we dont know about?

“In the beginning of change, the patriot is a scarce man; brave, hated and scorned.
When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot”

A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.
–Edward Abbey

“Courage my friends; ’tis not too late to build a better world.”
… Tommy Douglas

Former Army Specialist Rodriguez started getting bills for $700 for lost or damaged government property this summer. Although he was discharged some four years ago, bills recently arrived demanding payment, but giving no details on what or why — nor do they offer a way to dispute the charges. “For doing my job you’re going to bill me?” Rodriguez