(CBS News Exclusive) $1B In Military Equipment Missing In Iraq

[sabra]

Source: CBS News

Exclusive: Report Shows Vehicles, Machine Guns And More Meant For Iraqi Forces Unaccounted For

(CBS) This story was written and reported by Laura Strickler of the CBS News Investigative Unit.

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 about Army contracting and expanding fraud investigations. His resignation is effective Jan. 2, 2008.



Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/06/iraq/main3584247.shtml

[TwilightGardener]

1. Surprised there are no comments on this--are we now immune to

further outrage? Where the hell did all this stuff go? Who has the machine guns and rocket launchers? Isn't this the SECOND time this happened (military firearms disappearing) under Petraeus' watch? Just what the hell is going on over there? Does this have something to do with our arming most of the Sunni population?

[rodeodance]

6. just saw it. but i must admit that I have Outrage fatique of late.

[rodeodance]

7. REC

[sabra]

8. msm isn't even reporting US soldier casualties anymore

I have to go to Voice of Iraq and Reuters to find out anything...

[leftynyc]

22. Bill Maher calls it fuck up fatigue

It's everywhere and frankly I don't know of even one person who doesn't have it - left or right.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Probably never was any equipment.

Just the billion is missing.

[woodsprite]

3. Did the get the address wrong on shipping? Maybe they sent

it to Paraguay.

[LuckyLib]

5. The billions in equipment AND billions in bills are missing. Some in Swiss banks,

some buried, and whole heaps of it purchasing the weapons killing innocent Iraqis and US soldiers.
:mad:

[eringer]

4. Has anybody checked eBay?

Or maybe they were recalled because of lead poisoning (an historical problem with weapons).

[AllyCat]

9. Probably went the same place as the $8B in cash that went unaccounted

during Bremer's reign.

[monmouth]

10. No more funding for this GD war, Harry?? Nancy??? Listening??

[pinniped]

11. Iraq is the new Bermuda Triangle.

But, while the missing billions will never be found, the weapons are sure to turn up, someday.

[progressoid]

12. Is that all? Shoot. That's a drop in the ocean.

[acmavm]

13. What the hell is it with these asswipes named BOLTON??????

[99th_Monkey]

14. This on top of 190,000 AK-47s & handguns that went "missing" several months ago

Make no mistake about it: The US Taxpayers (that's you and me) are the ones who are arming the insurgency to the teeth, to insure
endless war in Iraq. It's both outrageous and pathetically laughable that the Decider is constantly accusing Iran of "aiding
the Terrahists" ... meanwhile Nancy and Harry mmm.. ho hum. no problemo mr president ... lie away endlessly, commit treason, we
could care less. gag me.

[izzybeans]

15. Blackwater?

[erpowers]

16. Use This Against the Whole Republican Party

The Democratic Party, especially those running for president, should use this against the whole Republican Party. Since Bush has been in office there has been nothing but mismanagement. This country went from having the ability to have surpluses for years to having defeicits. There have been a number of government groups that have been discovered to have missing money and missing materials. It is time to end the Republican rule and put some democrats in office to run this government properly.

[Bigmack]

17. Militias have 'em.

With all that ordnance adrift in the country, the various militias must be stashing a little something away for the day when the Crusaders leave, and the fun can start in earnest.

I'll bet Sadr is up to his lips in weapons, and if I was a Sunni (a live Sunni), I'd want me some weapons!

[sjdnb]

18. Resignation?

Ought to be indictment. Where is the accountability?

[pinniped]

19. I heard on the newz that the serial numbers for the missing crap wasn't available.

This fact alone makes it seem like this shit was never delivered.

Someone or some entity pocketed 1 billion more of our dollars.

This fucking war has created more millionaires and billionaires overnight than that asshole Bill Gates did with his crappy software in the 80s and 90s.

[Vinca]

20. No problem. Just drag out the Chinese credit card and buy them some more.nt

[Algorem]

21. much more lucrative than running,oh,say,Halliburton.

[flordehinojos]

23. look for the missing equipment in the backyards of whatever third world military the bushes are

backdoor funding for the schpreading of democracy...including blackwater's backyard in iraq and here in the states.... and never be surprised if next time you see an anti bush anti war protest here in these national shores you also see all the disappeared equipment come railing against our real patriots ... the anti war voices and the bush protesters.

look for whatever moneys may be missing from that (or whatever moneys anyone profited from the resale of those equipments) in the pockets of the the cheney/bushes/halliburton coffers and return them to our national treasury where those dollars belong.

[DeepModem Mom]

24. K&R

[Spurt]

25. Procurement has been stuffed for years.

Remember Bunny Greenhouse....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_Greenhouse

And the Senate is going to ask tough questions now? Yeah right.

[Javaman]

26. I will say it yet again: Iraq: the biggest money laundering outfit in history. nt

[BornagainDUer]

27. K&R

[dipsydoodle]

28. 'Millions missing' from Iraq fund

Source: BBC News

A $5.2bn (£2.6bn) fund used to train and equip Iraqi security forces cannot be shown to have been used properly, US military auditors say in a new report.

Sloppy accounting by the US army command meant there was no paper trail for much of the spending, they say.
>
The report said the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq was unable to provide "reasonable assurance" that money was not wasted and that the intended results had been achieved.

And it could not always show that equipment, services and construction had been delivered properly.




Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7132310.stm

[Gman]

29. There's plenty of embezzled funds to go around to all the Bush contributors

[rodeodance]

30. what the heck is our congress doing about this?

[SpiralHawk]

31. "Smirk, smirk, smirk" - Commander AWOL & Republicon Homelander cronies

"This crusade is so profitable, we just love it. Oh yeah, almost forgot our republicon homelander propaganda talking point: 'too bad about all YOUR dead sons and daughters in uniform.' But the profits are astonishingly good anyway, at least for republicon cronies. Smirk."

- Commander AWOL & Republicon Homelander cronies

[ixion]

32. and yet they're threatening to fire 200K people if we don't hand them billions more

yeah, gee, they've shown such good fiscal management with the billions we've given them thus far. :grr:

[PuraVidaDreamin]

33. Is this on top of the $9Billion missing under medal of freedom winner

Paul Bremmer?

[DeeDeeNY]

34. How suprising

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/business/17leonhardt.html

[Highway61]

35. Any one check a certain bank

account in the Caymen Islands? HUMMM?

[FreeStateDemocrat]

36. Anyone investigating, anyone arrested, demoted, fired, anyone really give a shit?

I forgot it's only tax dollars that may have been otherwise wasted on medical care for children in this country?

[Highway61]

38. Bad, isn't it?

How could things get so bad in such a relatively short period of time...I mean REALLY bad. I am seriously leaning toward moving out of here. (sigh)

[classysassy]

37. The love of money

[Javaman]

39. Iraq: the biggest money laundering outfit in the history of the world. nt

[LeftHander]

40. They had to use something for starting the insurgency....nt