More than $1 billion in military equipment missing in Iraq.
By on Dec 6th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
More than $1 billion in military equipment missing in Iraq.
A new Government Accountability Office Pentagon Inspector General report details “massive failure in government procurement,” revealing that there is “more than $1 billion in unaccounted for military equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces.” According to the analysis, the military, for example, “could not account for 12,712 out of 13,508 weapons, including pistols, assault rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers and machine guns.”
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Bachmann
Beck
Boehner
Bush
Business
Cheney
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
Dobbs
Economy
Education
Election
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Glenn Beck
Global Warming
Health Care
Immigration
International Relations
Justice
LGBT
Lieberman
Limbaugh
Media
Military
O'Reilly
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Politics
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Steele
Stimulus
Tea Parties
Tea Party
Terrorism
Veterans
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
Of course it’s gone – it’s Erik Prince’s IRA.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:04 pmAnd look for the taxpayers to pick up the tab to once again Bush’s mismanagement of the money allocated to Iraq. No accountability to whom was responsible for the money for military equipment. Bush is treating the taxpayers’ money and the money allocated to Iraq like he is at the Las Vegas strip.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:07 pmGeorge Bush is playing Texas Fold ‘Em with the US treasury.
-GSD
December 6th, 2007 at 7:09 pmIt’s not missing, it’s just that we don’t have it – the insurgency has it.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:10 pm4 – bwaaaahhhahahahahahahahahahaa
that is full-on HI-larious buddy!!!!
December 6th, 2007 at 7:12 pmsshhhhh
(frank doesn’t know that Arabs invented modern mathematics
December 6th, 2007 at 7:13 pmdon’t tell him straight to his face, though, or he’ll go shoot up a mall somewhere)
Did you check the ole Blackwater swamp.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:19 pmoff-topic, but look what slipped by when we weren’t looking…
from cnet news…
And, yes, I DO take it personally
December 6th, 2007 at 7:21 pmWell of course, you can’t have an enemy if they don’t have any weapons.
Bush/Cheney
Hague Trials ‘09
Buck Fush
December 6th, 2007 at 7:22 pmHoly Crap. We can only account for 5.89% of those weapons… A good insurgency is one that’s armed by those you’re fighting. Gee, this whole Iraq thing is really going swell.
And from the linked article, is the resigning Claude Bolton (assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology) any relation to John Bolton?
December 6th, 2007 at 7:29 pmIt all went to Blackwater. The neocons are creating their own army so they can take over the United States in the name of Christianity. The next civil war.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:35 pmI’d bet that Al qaeda could account for each of those missing weapons.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:37 pms the resigning Claude Bolton (assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology) any relation to John Bolton?
Comment by Theresa — December 6, 2007 @ 7:29 pm
Actually the name is “Strapon”… Claude Strapon…
December 6th, 2007 at 7:37 pmWhat does #4 Frank M not understand about which country has the best accounting system? Haven’t we mysteriously lost billions? Maybe billions before 9/11?
December 6th, 2007 at 7:38 pmYa don’t say…
December 6th, 2007 at 7:45 pmWell, what are you going to do? Iraqis don’t have the same concept of strict bookkeeping like we do. When we hand over the weapons, they’ll lose them and sell them. It’s a different culture and there’s nothing we can do about that.
Comment by Frank M
Since when do you a-holes observe the cultural differences in this mess?
December 6th, 2007 at 7:50 pmIn Frank’s mind the U.S. drops crates full of weapons onto the plains of Iraq. The accounting of these weapons is up to Iraq. That is only acceptable if a Republican is dropping weapons of course. If it’s a Democrat then all weapons must be accounted for.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:55 pmWalt’s right – those missing weapons amount to job security for the merc’s and defense contractors who are bleeding the treasury dry (actually dubbie dried out the treasury right away after seizing power, and now they’re just running up the Chinese credit card we all get to make the payments on (hooray, fiscally-responsible Righties))
December 6th, 2007 at 7:55 pm“Well, what are you going to do? Iraqis don’t have the same concept of strict bookkeeping like we do. When we hand over the weapons, they’ll lose them and sell them. It’s a different culture and there’s nothing we can do about that.”
Comment by Frank M
The one Frank forgets? That these weapons will end up killing American troops. Did this happen in Vietnam, other than with dropped ordnance? I don’t think so.
So just shrug it off Frank, and keep telling yourself that all is well.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:57 pmAs I said in another thread, Bush’s incompetance in this matter is worse than Reagan’s deliberately arming Iran back in the ’80’s.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:00 pmRight, #1. Blackwater’s stealing it as fast as they can. Eric Prince will have one hellova retirement fund at this rate. This is criminal, no doubt about it. This is taxpayer money involved here. It’s really becoming time for another Boston Tea Party, folks.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:02 pmTime to start withholding taxes.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:03 pmWell, what are you going to do? Iraqis don’t have the same concept of strict bookkeeping like we do. When we hand over the weapons, they’ll lose them and sell them. It’s a different culture and there’s nothing we can do about that.
Comment by Frank M
This is not a problem with the Iraqis asshat Francine. It is a problem with the US accounting system. Did you even bother to read the article? Just because you are too lazy to read the article, I’ll quote the relevant passage here:
The report details a massive failure in government procurement revealing little accountability for the billions of dollars spent purchasing military hardware for the Iraqi security forces. For example, according to the report, the military could not account for 12,712 out of 13,508 weapons, including pistols, assault rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers and machine guns.
It does not say that the Iraqis have lost or sold the hardware, it says that our government can’t account for where it went.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:23 pmWTF? If I lost one casing much less a weapon, when I served, it would have been my ass.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:35 pm“So are you saying that our government should keep a book on the hardware Iraqis have lost?”
Comment by Frank M —
Nah, that stuff will turn up eventually. But how will you spin it when the first American soldier’s death is positively linked to this missing hardware?
December 6th, 2007 at 8:36 pmAnd “lost” is just another way of saying “funneled to the insurgents.”
December 6th, 2007 at 8:37 pm25 – YOU are saying that basic incompetence is perfectly acceptable, as long as it’s in the interest of killing people, and that’s a pretty shocking sentiment.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:44 pmmy god your whole argument is that iraqis are corrupt and incompetent and therefore its not our fault if we keep losing billions there? are you serious? if you seriously think this is a problem because of untrustworthy iraqis, then you should at least agree that we should stop sending money there, since we know they are corrupt. but it sounds like you are fully okay with just writing off another billion in lost weapons as a cost of doing necessary business in a corrupt area? am i reading this correctly? if so, you sir are an ass.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:17 pmNot being able to account for Iraqi incompetence is not our fault. We take care of our own shipments, but it’s too much to ask that we keep track of the Iraqi weapons.
Comment by Frank M — December 6, 2007 @ 8:53 pm
How’s the weather up your ass, Frank? the Iraqis never even got the weapons, you fool. Bushco sold them to Syria.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:22 pmFrank, they can’t account for the weapons. That doesn’t mean they gave them to the Iraqis & now the Iraqis can’t produce them. It means the U.S. dropped off tanker loads of weapons at some warehouse & now they’re missing. They can’t account for them. They haven’t been distributed. They don’t know where they are. Someone took them. Maybe the enemy. They don’t know. You get it yet? The weapons are missing. And you don’t care because you don’t care about GWB’s incompetence.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:25 pmRelax folks, all that stuff is at cheneys house.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:29 pmRemember the old saw about “giving a gun to a monkey”?
Any harm caused by the “missing” weapons is the responsibility of those who supplied them. But, what’s a little more blood on the hands of Bushco?
December 6th, 2007 at 9:32 pm“More than $1 billion in military equipment missing in Iraq. ”
Is that all?
December 6th, 2007 at 9:36 pmHey, I have a shed out back. Just drop it by and I will buy em for ten mills on the dollar. Down here in Florida, we are running low on things to hang out in the rear windows of our pickup trucks. A nuke or two would really take the cake. Might have to put one in the bed.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:38 pmBris – hey good to see you – was wondering today which long-termers I hadn’t seen in a while.
(it’s way more than that, but the p.r. guys said limit it at a billion, so that’s what they went with this time)
Grab a stick and start swingin’ – there’s troll to de-bunk around here.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:38 pmRadar O’Reilly must have mailed himself another Jeep — or twelve. ;)
December 6th, 2007 at 9:50 pmIt’s not “missing” – it’s just not accounted.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:53 pmIt’s not lost, they just can’t find it.
It’s not in the hands of who knows who; it’s just not in ours.
It’s only a billion dollars worth – it’s not like it’s real money.
Q: Is this in addition to the last 185,000 weapons that “went missing”?
December 6th, 2007 at 10:51 pmIt’s a different culture and there’s nothing we can do about that.
Comment by Frank M — December 6, 2007 @ 7:09 pm
We could solve the problem, by pulling US troops out of Iraq, and letting them fend for themselves. You know the old self reliance saw. Funny thing is, when the Brits left Basra, violence dropped 90%.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:06 pmWho was it that said (paraphrased)
December 6th, 2007 at 11:37 pm“A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon your talking about some real money”?
Just more of the same… In just fourteen months, the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) burned its way through nearly $20 billion of Iraq reconstruction funds. But no-one can account for where it all went. Iraq’s infrastructure is worse than ever before. Operating rooms are flooded with sewage, new-born babies are dying for lack of basic equipment and medicine.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:44 pmGo to
http://www.linktv.org/programs/billions
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D46rBg04CgQ
to learn more.
Then call or write to Rep. Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform, and demand answers, he can be reached at:
(202) 225-3976 (phone)
(202) 225-4099 (fax)
What does #4 Frank M not understand about which country has the best accounting system?
Oy that would be the country of Enron?
December 6th, 2007 at 11:56 pm#30 pounded on the keyboard until the following appeared:
Not being able to account for Iraqi incompetence is not our fault. We take care of our own shipments, but it’s too much to ask that we keep track of the Iraqi weapons.
Comment by Frank M — December 6, 2007 @ 8:53 pm
Uhhh, we’re not talking about Iraqi incompetence here. We’re talking about USA incompetence, funded by the the good ole US of A taxpayers. The US cannot account for (in layman’s terms: uhhh, where did they go) 12,712 out of 13,508 guns. In other words, to make it simple for you, we can only track where 796 weapons went. What happended to the balance?
Now, let’s make this simple for you. You start with a zero balance in your checking account. You make a $13,508 deposit (a credit) and have $796 in expenses (debits) and the expenses clear with no problem. With me so far? Take the debits from the credits and your balance should be $12,712 right? Right. You check your balance the next day (via telephone or on-line) and your bank says you have a $0.00 balance. Aren’t you the least bit curious as to what happened to your $12,712? Or are you willing to write it off to the bank’s bad accounting practices and call it a day?
December 7th, 2007 at 12:07 amComment by Theresa — December 7, 2007 @ 12:07 am
Bravo! Even the unfortunate souls who were home “schooled” should get that one.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:18 amComment by Theresa — December 7, 2007 @ 12:07 am
I think you must’ve lost him at “zero balance”.
That’s already highly complex mathematics for Frank.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:48 amSilly, silly trolls.
They seem to be under the impression that the missing weapons are under someone’s bed, or in someone’s closet, gathering dust, misplaced and forgotten.
It never crosses their teeny mind that these arms might, just might, end up in the hands of the insurgents.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:54 amGeorge Bush is playing Texas Fold ‘Em with the US treasury.
-GSD
Comment by GSD — December 6, 2007 @ 7:09 pm
Actually, it’s a variation called “Tex-ass SOLD ‘Em”…
December 7th, 2007 at 12:57 amThey seem to be under the impression that the missing weapons are under someone’s bed
Comment by Gregor Samsa — December 7, 2007 @ 12:54 am
But, but, but I thought there were “leftists” under the bed.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:58 am#48 wrote: Comment by Theresa — December 7, 2007 @ 12:07 am
I think you must’ve lost him at “zero balanceâ€.
That’s already highly complex mathematics for Frank.
Comment by Gregor Samsa — December 7, 2007 @ 12:48 am
Yeah, you’re right. Frank’s abacus must have only one bead.
T
December 7th, 2007 at 1:21 amComment by pete — December 7, 2007 @ 12:58 am
Don’t forget the “tewowists”.
There are lots of them under the bed and hiding in the closet too.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:22 amAnd in case there is any doubt that this is about the US military’s own poor record-keeping:
Iraqi security forces were virtually nonexistent in early 2004, and in June of that year Petraeus was brought in to build them up. No central record of distributed equipment was kept for a year and a half, until December 2005, and even now the records are on a spreadsheet that requires three computer screens lined up side by side to view a single row, Christoff said.
The GAO found that the military was consistently unable to collect supporting documents to “confirm when the equipment was received, the quantities of equipment delivered, and the Iraqi units receiving the equipment.” The agency also said there were “numerous mistakes due to incorrect manual entries” in the records that were maintained.
Weapons Given to Iraq Are Missing
In other words, some of the equipment went missing even before officially being given to the Iraqis, putting a dent in the troll’s assertion that “we hand over the weapons, Iraqis lose them and sell them” because it’s a “different culture”.
I bet the insurgents -who also happen to be Iraqis- are much more careful with their weapons.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:33 amWow, the drill sergeants at Benning would tear you a new one for just getting your M-16’s serial number wrong.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:55 amOh my goodness. Is it confirmed to be missing, or are they already destroyed, stolen or abandoned?
December 7th, 2007 at 3:55 amDon’t worry folks, The republican thugs left in congress, the media and the troll nation will demand a full accounting from the next president, and blame her for the loss. It will all be Hillary’s fault. you watch. They’ll become the party of fiscal responsibility once again.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:29 amPerhaps we will find them in a couple years at the “Haliburton Army Surplus Super Mall”.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:54 am$1 bil translates a formidable amount of weapons. We’re not talking about 2 jet aircraft that fell off the truck, but literally tons of weapons and ammunition. The sad thing is that our soldiers or those of our allies will see these weapons again either later this week or years down the road–but from the wrong side. Blowback is bad enough, but we make sure it comes fully armed.
December 7th, 2007 at 7:59 amFool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
I think BuckieBoy is right on target.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:29 pmYou can’t have the ripe, profitable chaos of a sustained low intensity conflict w/out a well-armed enemy.