Arming The Civil War
Some time ago the office of the Inspector General released a report that says about 14,000 weapons that were supposed to be given to the new Iraqi army could not be accounted for.
Well, turns out the discreptancy covers only the time before the weapons were given to the Iraq army units. What happens to the weapons after being handed over to the recruits gives a much worse picture:
“I certainly concede that there are weapons that have been lost, stolen and misappropriated,� General Dempsey said. He noted that the inspector general had estimated that 4 percent, or about 14,000 weapons, were lost between arriving in Iraq and being transferred to Iraqi forces. Most of the weapons were pistols.The general said that he thought the estimate was high and that accountability was improving. A weapons registry was being created, he said. “Serial numbers are being registered,� he said.
But the estimate of a 4 percent loss did not include weapons that were lost or stolen after being issued to Iraqi units. The arms dealers said this was the main source of their goods.
The arms dealers described several factors that kept weapons flowing from state custody.
Some have been taken by insurgents in ambushes or raids. Defections and resignations have also been common in Iraqi police and army units, they said, and often departing soldiers and officers leave with their weapons, which are worth more than several months of pay.
Yeap, keep enabling the disaster there, oh Wise Men. We can certainly fix this. First three years haven't done it, but by golly give us another 3-10 years, we'll figger it out! Especially with a tone-deaf president at the helm.