190,000 weapons 'missing in Iraq'Iraqi National guardsman with AK-47 (archive)AK-47 assault rifles might have ended up in insurgents' handsThe US military cannot account for 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to the Iraqi security forces, an official US report says.The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Pentagon cannot track about 30% of the weapons distributed in Iraq over the past three years.The Pentagon did not dispute the figures, but said it was reviewing arms deliveries procedures.About $19.2bn has been spent by the US since 2003 on Iraqi security forces.GAO, the investigative arm of the US Congress, said at least $2.8bn of this money was used to buy and deliver weapons and other equipment.Correspondents say it is now feared many of the weapons are being used against US forces on the ground in Iraq.The Iraqi interior ministry has blamed the Americans for the disappearance of the weapons.A spokesman, Brigadier General Abd-al-Karim Khalaf, told the BBC his ministry had not been consulted over the distribution. He also said there was no evidence to suggest that insurgents might have got hold of some of the weapons.DiscrepanciesThe GAO said weapons distribution was haphazard and rushed and failed to follow established procedures, particularly from 2004 to 2005. MISSING IN IRAQAK-47 rifles: 110,000Pistols: 80,000Body armour pieces: 135,000Helmets: 115,000During this period, security training was led by Gen David Petraeus, who now commands all US forces in Iraq.The GAO reached the estimate - 111,000 missing AK-47s and 80,000 missing pistols - by comparing the property records of the Multi-National Security Transition Command for Iraq against records maintained by Gen Petraeus of the arms and equipment he ordered.Deputy Assistant Defence Secretary Mark Kimmitt told AFP the Pentagon was "reviewing policies and procedures to ensure US-funded equipment reaches the intended Iraqi security forces under the Iraq program".Weapons delayThe report comes as a political battle rages in Washington over the progress of the war in Iraq.Gen Petraeus and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are scheduled to report to Congress by mid-September on the success of efforts to halt sectarian violence and return Iraq to viable self-governance.Meanwhile, at the end of July, the US Defence Department admitted that the US-led coalition in Iraq had failed to deliver nearly two-thirds of the equipment it promised to Iraq's army.The Pentagon said only 14.5m of the nearly 40m items of equipment ordered by the Iraqi army had been provided.The US military commander in charge of training in Iraq has asked for help in speeding up the transfer of equipment.Iraq's ambassador to the US said the delays were hindering the fighting capacity of its armed forces.
I agree that a few US soldiers have done some horrible things to Iraqis. This is in turn should naturally make some Iraqi fearful of US troops and that's perfectly fine.
I heard this on the news. One question comes to mind: How come the weapons (the AK-47s in particular)weren't American made? I would have thought since the US is funding these weapons, that they would have been American (e.g. M-4, M-16, etc).Still, thats a LOT of guns to go missing. The ammo for em I'm sure aint that hard to get.I guess the insurgents just got resupplied BIG TIME.
The cost of American weapons such as M-16's or M-4's would be greater. I would suspect that they knew of the risk and decided against selling the better American weapons on such a large scale, a smart move. Insurgents with M-16's would pose a greater threat than those with AK-47's.
That's enough missing weapons to equip up to ten large divisions! This is very unfortunate, I hope it all gets sorted out.
LOL thats all yu can say? very unfortunate??? ahahahahaha
The AK-47 does carry a larger caliber and is 5 inches shorter in length to the M-16, but that alone does not surpass or equal the threat posed my an M-16. The M-16 is lighter, has a higher rate of fire, a longer effective range and better accuracy. In an urban environment, having a heavier caliber found on the AK-47 won't benefit you as much as having the pros found on the M-16.
fuh real Grim, i saw a show on TDC once, and they were showing the effective use & especially the damage an M-16 could do, they proved that the smaller caliber was devastating... apparently, when the M-16 bullet enters the body, it slows down so rapidly that the heavier rear-end tries to overtake the front, causing the projectile to bend; ultimately exploding due to the stress!!
A man wiki there. As for whether the M16 checkmates the AK that is an ungoing discussion that has gone on for a very long time.
I'll just leave it at since the M16 is the preferred american choice of assault rifle that's why grim chose it as opposed to the eastern decended AK
at the end of the day the fact remains that 190k weapons went missing, regardless of which type of weapon or why it was chosen, fact remains that ppls children may very well NOT be coming home as a result. Own goal america/allies/whomever fcuked up.... wait that should be own goal AGAIN.... we stopped counting friendly fire a while ago.
Kinda wondering about that whole AK thing myself.You'd think even with the higher cost the Americans would want to give the work to locals. Do any American companies even have license to manufacture AKs? Or is Putin the only person smiling about more weapons needing to be ordered to replace this 'lost' stock?
I'm sure the M-16 is a superior weapon to the AK, the AK is after all old as hell. I remember there was a weapons show on old TechTV where they showed the next generation AK (don't remember the model). It isn't used in Russia due to cost but they ranked it as pretty much the baddest assault rifle in the world at the time.
