They were (a) cached, and (b) for the use of approved individuals/groups, (c) against an "enemy" that was more popular with the population at large than anyone was willing to admit publicly.
As a comparison, that's where it breaks down.
If those automatic weapons had been made available to the population at large, the terrorists and dead-enders would have been quickly killed/chased out by their countrymen. On the other hand, they would have been able to turn to us and say "OK, we got it, thank you, go away now" long before a decent government could be established. It was a trade-off.
The weapons kittymyrib mentions are not cached, but are in the hands of the citizens, who whatever their disagreement with the present form of government, still prefer it to anything the EU has to offer.
>>If those automatic weapons had been made available
>>to the population at large, the terrorists and
>>dead-enders would have been quickly killed/chased
>>out by their countrymen
Bullshyte.
Anyone with common sense can observe that a "weapons shortage" was not, and IS not, a root cause of the Iraqi/Middle-Eastern/Islamic Jihadist Charlie Foxtrot.
I fully support and appreciate the 2nd amendment; but I realize that it was intended to protect the 1st amendment - and was not intended to be an object of worship in and of itself, as it has become.