Posted on 12/08/2007 9:43:57 AM PST by Cagey
Exclusive: Report Shows Vehicles, Machine Guns And More Meant For Iraqi Forces Unaccounted For
Tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, crates of machine guns and rocket propelled grenades are just a sampling of more than $1 billion in unaccounted for military equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces, according to a new report issued today by the Pentagon Inspector General and obtained exclusively by the CBS News investigative unit. Auditors for the Inspector General reviewed equipment contracts totaling $643 million but could only find an audit trail for $83 million.
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.
The report comes on the same day that Army procurement officials will face tough questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee regarding their procurement policies. One official, Claude Bolton, assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology has already announced his resignation on the heels of sharp criticism of army contracting. Bolton’s resignation is effective Jan. 2, 2008. The Army has significantly expanded its fraud investigations in recent months.
The report is scheduled for official release Thursday afternoon. Check back with CBSNews.com for more on this developing story.
I’d like complete access to he financial books of CBS, I know, I’ll find many discrepancies.
This is typical media BS.
I wish it were media BS. The Inspector General’s report, which you can read if you choose, is at the link.
It’s our money being used in the War On Terror and I want want it accounted for, don’t you? I don’t want the arms and equipment we are providing the Iraqi security forces to end up in some back street garage sale and I’m afraid much of it has.
CBS reporters should instead of reporting on this be sent “personally” in a combat zone all through the country to account for every piece of hardware missing. I think their lives are worth that chase.
There are hundreds of thousands of troops over four years that have moved all over Iraq. There are many Iraqi units that have been stood up, re-flagged, renamed, moved, absorbed into new units, etc. I think CBS should do some real reporting and risk the lives of their people to account for every last AK we bought for the Iraqi forces.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing, so long as the ISF and Coalition capture more than they lose. I wonder what the ratio is.
—my guess is that 2008 will be full of disclosures of waste in Iraq—(you can’t spend that much money without some of it sticking to fingers)—all aimed at a Dem victory in the fall-—
This represents a minor fraction of one percent of the cost of all equipment sent to Iraq. I regularly lost a higher percentage of stuff that was supposed to be squared away in my foot locker.
In this instance, that's far more than a tad over 1%.
I kept a lock on my footlocker when I served in the Army.
Do you really think that every truck, jeep, artillery piece and other equipment shipped over to Europe in WWII was positively accounted for after the war? Nonsense.
Reminds me of the British Quartermasters in the Zulu Wars demanding that every box of ammo be signed for, even in the middle of a battle. But hey, the British taxpayers were paying for it and deserved a detailed accounting, right? Count the frigging costs when men are dying and Congress is trying to choak the life out of them? We’ll have plenty of time to balance the books as soon as we win the damn war!
Here’s a hint, just because you don’t know where it is this second, doesn’t mean it’s not being used on the other side of Iraq by some other US unit. A lot of hardware is traded between units as they rotate in and out. You have units moving, some hardware is given to Iraqi’s, some is destroyed or damaged beyond repair, some items are “borrowed” by another military unit. Much of this does not occur the way it should with proper tracking. It’s a “war-zone,” not your back yard. You have 160,000 troops there and during the major ground combat phase as many as 330,000. It’s been over four years. There’s stuff that’s not going to be accounted for- No $hit.
I heard a discuss on this. The equipment may or may not have made it to the correct location. It is only the paper work trail in question. The MSM lover to jump on any bad news without fully understanding the facts.
Brought to you by the same government that takes more than 15% of your wages so you can retire gracefully.
And still we love them.
No, I sure don’t. But tens of thousands of unaccounted for M-1’s didn’t end up in ex-Nazi’s trying to kill Americans after the war was over either.
Much of the equipment missing during WWII probably ended up coming home in GI’s duffle bags and the rest sold on the blackmarket in Europe to farmers. LOL
This is disturbing. Those monies should be replaced. Is it possible to take the difference out of Congressional salary increases, perks and benefits?
I'm not all that worried about being attacked by some guy using my keys or a TV remote. Maybe the fireplace remote, but not the one I use for the TV.
However, if any of the seven weapons in my home were unaccounted for I'd freak out. But right now they are under lock and key and I guarantee you they are right where I put them because I put a handgun away this morning.
Cheer up! Most of it is $600 hammers!
Even Radar sent home a Jeep from Korea one piece at a time.
LOL! Add one made for the Government toilet seat and you’re right at an even Billion.
Gee, I wonder how come they aren’t that upset over all the missing money dumped into Katrina?
Any time the government gets involved, you can bet that the thieves are thick.
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