Not surprisingly, military can't keep track of weapons they've shoveled into hands of Afghans

[bigtree]

Military struggles to track Afghans' weapons

29 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has been shoveling weapons into the hands of Afghan troops but doesn't have a firm system in place or enough personnel to ensure they don't wind up in the hands of Taliban fighters, according to an independent study.

In a study to be released on Thursday, the Government Accountability Office found that the U.S. shipped some 242,000 weapons to Afghanistan during a nearly four year period before June 2008. The weapons included rifles, pistols, machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

Despite policies to the contrary, the Defense Department did not maintain a complete inventory on more than a third of those weapons, according to the GAO.

In response to the report, the Defense Department said it agreed that it needed more people. The Pentagon also said it has taken steps to try to address the problem, including registering serial numbers of small arms and monitoring the location of a weapon.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iWxiu65iLP4CvDJ7BEsBOx-u_vdwD969NGB82

[Mari333]

1. and there goes more of yourrrrr tax money!!! nt

[LakeSamish706]

2. And we wonder why NATO forces as well as US troops are dying over there....

in the numbers they are.... I think if the NATO forces are smart, they will pull the hell out of that place ASAP.

[bigtree]

7. they had begun to blame Iran for smuggling in weapons, like they accused them in Iraq

This is just like what we did in Iraq with the 'Awakening Councils' and others, including the huge weapons cache they found and left unguarded early in the occupation.

NATO is set to go after 'drug lords'. It looks like we're doubling down, instead of folding.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. Are the geniuses in the Pentagon still handing out Viagra with the guns?

Military Intelligence = Oxymoron

[sakabatou]

4. ::facepalm::

[Johonny]

5. Is it really their fault?

The general Washington idea is that we are training them to take care of themselves. In theory they aren't suppose to be giving the weapons we give their troops to the enemy in return for money, power, food... I think the problem isn't with the Defense Department it's with the people setting the policy.

[bigtree]

6. the people 'setting the policy' are in the Defense dept.

Show me where the President disagrees with their policy of supplying these Afghan 'militias' with arms. The Pentagon has already expressed their intention to do more of this.

[gratuitous]

8. Has the NRA been notified of this alarming development?

"The Pentagon also said it has taken steps to try to address the problem, including registering serial numbers of small arms and monitoring the location of a weapon."

Gun control! The government is gonna take your guns away! Stop Obama! He's a closet muslin! Eleven1!

[bigtree]

9. more

>>>This included not only AK-47 assault rifles but mortars, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, The Washington Post reported.

The list of missing items "at serious risk of theft or loss," the GAO report said, extended to such sensitive equipment as night vision goggles, critical in rugged terrain fighting of Taliban insurgents.

The report said many of the missing weapons were left in the care of Afghan-run military depots noted for desertion, theft and sub-par security systems.

Additionally, the GAO report said, it found no reliable records showing what happened to 135,000 weapons donated by other NATO countries.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/report-taliban-may-have-us/story.aspx?guid={D9C8D31B-9F75-4366-9B48-F033987D0BB8}&dist=msr_1