Poor records create Iraqi weapons question-mark
US forces have distributed billions of dollars' worth of weapons to their Iraqi comrades
Monday, 06, Aug 2007 07:52
The United States military does not know the whereabouts of 190,000 weapons given to Iraqi security forces, a report has revealed.
The US government's accountability office says the department of defence and the multinational forces in Iraq command are unable to account for 110,000 AK-47 rifles and 80,000 pistols issued to Iraqi forces prior to September 2005.
The "lapse in accountability" was caused by staffing difficulties, administrative problems linked to poor record-keeping on the ground in Iraq itself and "inadequate technology", the report concludes.
As the department of defence has requested an addition $2 billion (£1 billion) on top of the $19.2 billion (£9.5 billion) so far spent on developing Iraq's security forces, it adds that improving procedures are worthwhile to help show the money is being well-spent.
A further 135,000 items of body armour and 115,000 helmets were also unaccounted for, the report found.
The Washington Post newspaper quotes a senior Pentagon official admitting that some of the weapons may be being used against coalition forces in Iraq.
The US' involvement in the post-Saddam country could begin to wind down next month if its current security surge fails to produce results in improving security.
Such an outcome would increase pressure for a start to troop withdrawals forced through by the Democrat-held Congress, analysts say.