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CBSNews /

CBS/ February 11, 2009, 4:11 PM

Are Lost U.S. Weapons In Enemy Hands?

Last month, a government report revealed the U.S. military could not account for 190,000 -- or 30 percent -- of all weapons issued to Iraqi Security Forces between June 2004 and December 2005.

Thursday, Pentagon officials said $88 billion in spending in Iraq and Afghanistan is now under audit by the Department of Defense for fraud.

Now, in his exclusive report CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian has learned some of those missing weapons have ended up in the worst possible hands.

CBS News has learned that the CIA has photographic evidence that Austrian-made Glocks intended for Iraqi security forces and paid for by U.S. taxpayers are now in the hands of Iraqi insurgents -- in numbers that the intelligence community believes are in the thousands.

According to an intelligence source, the U.S. contractor in charge of the Glocks somehow lost track of an entire shipment. That mysterious disappeance is now part of a massive military bribery investigation centered around a contracting office run out of a small trailer at a military base in Kuwait. Eighteen federal investigators are digging into the actions of dozens of high-ranking U.S officers and military contractors.

Thursday, at a House Armed Services Committee hearing, lawmakers took aim at what the chairman called "a culture of corruption" surrounding billions in Iraq war contracts, but stopped short of publicly saying where some of the weapons wound up.

"The number of folks who have enormous responsibilty to this country are involved has, I think, made this a real tragedy for our country," says Duncan Hunter, the committee's ranking member.

After the hearing, Keteyian confronted Army Lt. General Ross Thompson, who admitted the Inspector General at the Defense of Department is looking at the CIA's evidence.

"We are going to report tonight that thousands of Glock pistols intended for Iraq security forces instead ended up in the hands of insurgents," says Keteyian. "What is your reaction to that?"

"I don't know that for a fact," Thompson says. "It is something that is being investigated by the DOD IG right now and that's something that is not within my responsibility or my area of expertise to comment on, but it is being actively investigated."

As Congress prepares to send another $2 billion to the Iraq security forces, Dept. of Defense officials testified they are working to find better ways to maintain appropriate accountability and control over military material.

It's small comfort to American soldiers in Iraq who may now be staring down the barrel of guns paid for by the U.S. government.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved.
78 Comments Add a Comment
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mh4cbs1 says:
STOP the Blackwater Civilian-Killing Terrorists! Their most recent murder-spree, that has finally forced our corporate media to pay attention to it, is not by any means an isolated event. Read this, from ''The Nation'' magazine:

"Brigadier General Karl Horst, deputy commander of the 3rd Infantry Division said of private security contractors, %u201CThese guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There%u2019s no authority over them, so you can%u2019t come down on them hard when they escalate force%u2026. They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place.%u201D Horst tracked contractor conduct for a two month period in Baghdad and documented at least a dozen shootings of Iraqi civilians by contractors, resulting in six Iraqi deaths and the wounding of three others. That is just one General in one area of Iraq in just 60 days."
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mh4cbs1 says:
Remember 2000, when Bush was campaigning for President as "Compassionate Conservative".

Those were his first TWO LIES to the nation.

He is not compassionate, as he spends $500 Billion on a needless horrific war based on Lies, gives hundreds of billions in massive tax cuts to the filthy rich, then says $7 Billion per year to help poorer kids get health insurance either costs too much or would take profits away from mega-insurance-corporations (God forbid!)

He is NOT Conservative. Ron Paul is Conservative. Conservatives do not double the national debt to NINE TRILLION Dollars. Conservatives do not go on radical reckless Invasions, Hitler style (you know, based on LIES, FEAR, hyped fake-patriotic fervor, co-opted media that is nothgin more that flag-waving cheerleaders...)
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ioweign says:

Whoever is responsible needs to go to jail!

Posted by USnotUN at 08:07 PM : Sep 22, 2007




The Shrub !!!
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usnotun says:
This is what happens when politicians control guns. Only the bad guys have them.

Next time one of our politicians starts spouting off about "gun control", remind him or her about the foolishness of letting government control something as potentially dangerous as firearms.

Hopefully, somebody is going to jail. I''m tired of hearing some crooked politicians tell us that he takes responsibility, and that''s it. Whoever is responsible needs to go to jail!
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mcvet says:
Oh, I get it now. The same Leftists who have no problem with Iran giving guns to Al Qaeda sudden;y care when a U.S. company is being accused...ok...got it.

www.conservativemusiconline.com


My music slaps The Left

Posted by conserva at 04:13 PM : Sep 22, 2007
+ report abuse

You pathetic Fascist, the CHAIRMAN of the committee investigating the missing weapons is a Democrat... if it were left to the fascist there would be no investigation. Now overlooking your stupid LIE about the weapons from Iran what do you say about OUR OWN Government arming the insurgency? No don''t bother, your to fascist to have an answer... sieg heil bush!!
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sftodd says:
mogofalo -- you may very well have nailed it, but you really ought to dumb it down a bit -- sadly, those capable of understanding what you wrote are not the ones who need to hear it. Try this:

Haliburton planned this war for years so that your tax money would go directly into its pockets.
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ideologue says:
Maybe a mercenary plutocratic predatory few both terrorize the many and offer protection in exchange for gold in a global shakedown of epic proportions that some call a war on terror. Maybe the goal of a war on terror is not to end terror, or to create security necessary for a lasting peace. Maybe the goal of a war on terror is to spread terror in war. Maybe by spreading terror in war, a mercenary plutocratic predatory few create greater demand in the global market place for the products and services of a beast of a military industrial complex. Maybe use of terror to create greater demand in the global market place for the products and services of a beast of a military industrial complex; generates greater profits from the sale and manufacture of these products and services; and further concentrates the wealth of the global culture into the hands of a mercenary plutocratic predatory few.

Source: http://www.4iam.info/Manifesto/lxxii.htm
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sftodd says:
conserva - don''t you realize that the republicans you vote for would slam the door in your face if you ever tried to be one of their friends? They just appeal to your redneck emotions (guns, Jesus, hatred for ***, etc.) while they bend you over and screw you economically. On a certain level, it''s genius, but I can''t help feeling sorry for the poor rednecks who fall for the Republican scam. Do you think they hate the ***? Nope (they don''t care who you sleep with) - they just use it as a wedge issue to get poor uneducated people to vote for them, so they can make themselves richer while you don''t have pot to ___ in, but at least the *** are not marrying each other!
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socrates392 says:
Posted by gramto11 at 05:03 PM : Sep 22, 2007

I know how it is . . . Sometimes one of these guys says something so idiotic you just have to point out the error of their ways. I just wish he''d actually listen and internalize what you said! :)
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gramto7 says:
Yeah, what you don''''t understand is our friend conserva only makes posts here to sell his stupid music cd, which he is tooo stingy to advertise legally. I''''m sure he thinks all "A-rabs" are the same!

Posted by socrates392

Yeah, I do understand that. I reported him for it earlier today, but his statement in this ''ad'' just really got me.
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