That is simply not true. The gun was designed around a 5.56 made with extruded powder. This burns hotter but there isn’t as much fouling. The military then started production of ammo with ball powder against the objection of the designers. Then the military deployed the rifle without cleaning kits of any kind. The situation this put our soldiers in was a damn shame...but it wasn’t a design flaw of the rifle.
Thanks. It’s been a while since I’ve read over that piece of history and I appreciate your correction.