by Deb Cupples | Today, I found myself remembering news stories I've come across over the past couple years -- specifically issues that seem to have gone unresolved (or whose resolution has not made major headlines).
Back in August 2007, for example, the Washington Post reported that 190,000 U.S. weapons meant for Iraqi forces were lost while General David Petraeus was leading the effort to arm and train Iraqis (see also GAO ).
That 190,000 weapons was about one-third of the weapons our nation sent to Iraq to arm Iraqi security forces. That 190,000 weapons, some of which may have made it into the black market or enemy hands -- represent more than one weapon or each U.S. soldier in Iraq.
At the time, General Petraeus essentially chalked up the massive loss of guns and grenades to "clerical errors." Apparently, the U.S. military had failed to put accounting procedures into place before running weapons to Iraq -- despite the fact that our nation's officials had months to prepare for the actual invasion of Iraq.
As taxpayers, we have a right to know what happened to those weapons and who has been held accountable for the massive disappearance.
Similarly, in December 2007, CBS News reported that $1 billion worth of all sorts of US-funded equipment was just-plain 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.
I must interject: this means that $560 million out of $643 million (or 87%) went unaccounted for. CBS News continued:
"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."
Wow! This means that 94% of those 13,508 weapons went unaccounted for.
As taxpayers, we have a right to know: 1) how much equipment ended up "in enemy hands," 2) how much was sold on the black market to provide funding for insurgents, and 3) who is responsible for the masses of missing equipment.
Then there's the "Billions over Baghdad": a story that Vanity Fair published back in 2007, which is well worth reading. That story begins like this:
"Between April 2003 and June 2004, $12 billion in U.S. currency—much of it belonging to the Iraqi people—was shipped from the Federal Reserve to Baghdad, where it was dispensed by the Coalition Provisional Authority.
Yes, that's $9 billion that went missing -- enough to run a big city or small state for a year. It's a lot more than I imagine your average bank heist renders.
And yet, I've seen no major headlines about accountability on the part of the people who were charges with making sure that our tax dollars were well spent.
As taxpayers, surely we have a right to know what happened.
I could go on and on with examples of unresolved news stories, but I'd like to enjoy the rest of my Saturday.
Other Buck Naked Politics Posts:
* Contractors Offering Bribes to Army Personnel
* Defense Contractors Fight Taxpayers After Taking Money and Not Doing Job
* Contractor Northrop to Settle Fraud Suit for $325 Million
* Defense Dept. Rewarding Bad Contractor Performance?
* Contractors: Driving up War's Costs?
* Contractors: Driving up Healthcare Costs
* FEMA and Katrina: Poor Management or Corruption?
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