DEFENSE: Lost, Stolen, Sold? Tracking U.S. Weapons in Afghanistan

[pkpatriotic]

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DEFENSE: Lost, Stolen, Sold? Tracking U.S. Weapons in Afghanistan
By Te-Ping Chen
December 12, 2008

When the headlines first appeared in August 2007, they seemed ironic: Four years after the United States invaded Iraq in search of Saddam Hussein’s weapons, according to the Government Accountability Office, the real problem was keeping track of our own arms. It turns out the Pentagon’s difficulty in keeping tabs on the weaponry it ships isn’t restricted to Iraq. PaperTrail has learned that the GAO is now focusing on U.S. weapons that are unaccounted for in Afghanistan, and a new report is slated for release in January.

Preliminary findings on the subject were issued in October by the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General, which flew a team to Afghanistan this past spring to suss out the extent of the problem.

Their findings were suggestive, noting that the U.S. Central Command lacked well-defined procedures to track and locate weaponry supplied to the Afghan National Security Forces, meaning the “misplacement, loss, or theft of [arms, ammunition, and explosives] may not be prevented.” (In particular, the serial numbers of U.S.-issued weapons were never kept on careful file.) The report, however, attracted none of the media furor that followed the GAO’s Iraq release.

But the pending GAO report on weapons possibly gone astray in Afghanistan may be another story. According to a source at the DOD, the report will do what the Pentagon’s inspector general did not — put a figure on exactly how many weapons have gone unaccounted for.

The pile of weapons to pilfer, while smaller than Iraq, is nonetheless huge. From 2005 to 2008, the United States provided the Afghan National Army — part of the Afghan National Security Forces — with $3.7 billion in weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, from 2002 to 2008, the United States pumped an overall $16.5 billion into the ANSF for training and equipment.

It’s possible that most of the weapons remain in custody of Afghan forces. The trouble is, without maintaining a system to accurately record each weapons’ serial number, there’s no telling how many weapons might have gone missing — or who actually ended up using them.

“If you don’t carefully count and record the serial numbers on the weapons, they could be stolen, lost, or sold,” said the DOD official. “And any weapon that’s stolen has the potential to end up in the hands of our enemies.”

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It's really surprising news, which shows the extent of negligencies and capabilties of US command and control in Afghanistan, here is two main questions arise in minds that either US command is unskilled and careless and linient (which obviously may not), or on other side it could be delibrate loophole of negligence of US command to provide chance to support unpopular elements, underhand for boosting covert activities inregion to provide reason in front of US public, leading authorities, and the world too, to prolong stay of US forces in afghaniistan for known and some unknown activities / agenda.

[Kharian_Beast]

A picture I saw on tv a few weeks ago left me puzzled...I saw in it about a few dozen armed men with their faces covered all carrying US small arms with Javelin ATGM's and boxes of ammunition and grenades piled on the side. They were inspecting the gear, what looked like night vision equipment and sophisticated communications devices. I also saw American made heavy machine guns and a few were wearing heavy body armour. If I can find this picture on the net I will post it, but truth be told it was shown on the BBC for a few seconds highlighting the same issue that this article illustrates for us. All of this equipment looked completely new, did not seem like they had to fight for it, what seems is like someone made them a charitable donation...? Could the US be selling arms to the taliban to make them more of a threat?

I don't think there is a shortage of weaponry in Afghanistan mates, now they have modern American and European gear which makes this a very unstable situation for ISAF and more so my concern Pakistan. Some speculate that the taliban themselves have a special forces type unit, one which may have been responsible for the deaths of the elite French paratroopers a while back. Their equipment was also taken by the way.

[metalfalcon]

They have tooooooooo many weapons to take care of, they throw them sometimes they leave behind sometimes and Even they sell it sometimes . Equipment for arming one or two Brigades lost doesn't mean anything to them after all their Defence industry flourishes after each war and it wont happen if there is no need for the new weapons so they have to do something about the weapons in their stocks.

I have seen Taliban with Humvees and Hummers and they have M-4 Carbine with Grenade Launcher, I don't think Pathans manufacture these items in Darra Adam Khel or do they ? I dont know how to post a pic from ur Pc to this forum otherwise i would have posted.

In many Hollywood movies as well they show that Senior military Officials are involved in illegal arms trade. But where is accountability ??

[dk33]

Lets not forget that the PA and FC have had entire trucks of supplies, weapons and ammunitions stolen. Pilferage from NATO supplies shipped through Pakistan occurs of course, along with the higher profile attacks on NATO convoys that we have seen recently, and probably occurs in Afghanistan as well.

Not sure why US origin ATGM's would be available to the militants though, since the Taliban have no armor - unless of course they were obtained through the Northern Alliance, provided to them when the US helped them overthrow the Taliban.

[Kharian_Beast]

Lets not forget that the PA and FC have had entire trucks of supplies, weapons and ammunitions stolen. Pilferage from NATO supplies shipped through Pakistan occurs of course, along with the higher profile attacks on NATO convoys that we have seen recently, and probably occurs in Afghanistan as well.

Not sure why US origin ATGM's would be available to the militants though, since the Taliban have no armor - unless of course they were obtained through the Northern Alliance, provided to them when the US helped them overthrow the Taliban.

AFAIK ATGM's are being used in Afghanistan to take out entrenched positions as well as taliban vehicles. New Javelin missiles by the way, not the Milan used by the Afghans during the Soviet occupation.



Here is a picture of a Javelin being used in Afghanistan by UK marines.

[dk33]

AFAIK ATGM's are being used in Afghanistan to take out entrenched positions as well as taliban vehicles. New Javelin missiles by the way, not the Milan used by the Afghans during the Soviet occupation.



Here is a picture of a Javelin being used in Afghanistan by US marines.

Thanks for the clarification, no mysteries now on why the insurgents have ATGM's.

Sucks for our guys fighting it out, if the numbers available to the militants are significant, and they are usable.

[metalfalcon]

for more information please check this

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan's spreading Taleban war

[metalfalcon]

Taliban steal there weapons and they blame Pakistan for Spreading the war

[Kharian_Beast]

"The militants I think have far better equipment, they have rocket-propelled guns and we have none," Ins Gen Malik Naveed Khan, the head of police for NWFP, told me.

This seems like a related incident, good catch mate.

[metalfalcon]

"The militants I think have far better equipment, they have rocket-propelled guns and we have none," Ins Gen Malik Naveed Khan, the head of police for NWFP, told me.

This seems like a related incident, good catch mate.

Yeah, you are right, they have high quality Equipment because its American and they stole it from the Americans, I have seen pics of Pathans selling Shoes and helmets of American soldiers, Camel back kits, glasses, Zippo lighters, Bullet proof jackets (some with already bullets in them,), sorry i cannot post them here because somebody (I don't want to mention him) in the Army showed me those pics. May be all the stuff belonged to those soldiers who were killed by the Taliban.

[Kharian_Beast]

A large percentage of course is larahi ki maal not a doubt in my mind because it is natural in this type of warfare, but I am wondering what percentage of these are well trained and equipped false flag operatives using sophisticated weaponry to discredit Pakistan's name? These can't all be the same people fighting ISAF in Afghanistan can they? Would it be in their interests to engage PA as well as ISAF? I doubt it.

[pkpatriotic]

Stolen night vision goggles offered for sale on eBay
By PETER ALMOND and CHRISTOPHER LEAKE

The Ministry of Defence is investigating how a pair of state-of-the-art night vision goggles worth £12,000 came to be offered for sale on eBay.

The equipment, designed for use by helicopter pilots, was placed on the internet auction site last month.

It is just one of several pairs of the highly sophisticated goggles to have disappeared from Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force bases over the past year. And MoD police fear they could end up being used against British troops by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.



Night sight: But stolen goggles could be used against our troops
A 30-year-old naval rating was arrested last month after a pair was found in his quarters at the Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton, Somerset, following an anonymous tip-off.

"This is pretty serious," a senior MoD official said last night. "The Taliban are desperate to get hold of military NVGs [night vision goggles] because they are hugely superior to the civilian ones you can buy for £300 or so.
"You give a Taliban sniper one of these and our advantage at night disappears. We'd have a lot more people coming home in body bags."

News of the thefts comes just two weeks after a coroner slammed as "unforgivable and inexcusable" MoD failures that contributed to the death of a British Paratrooper.

Oxford coroner Andrew Walker said that Captain James Phillippson, 29, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, and his 19 men suffered heavily in battle in Afghanistan due to a lack of equipment including night vision goggles, light machine guns and grenade launchers.

MoD chiefs are concerned about the increasing amount of Armed Forces hardware being offered for sale. Latest figures reveal that more than 200 weapons were lost or stolen between 1997 and 2005.

They included 36 SA80 rifles, of which only ten have been recovered. Just seven of 39 handguns lost had been accounted for.

Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a former Army commander, said last night: "Servicemen and women have to remember that stealing and selling this stuff may well help our enemies."

A Royal Navy spokesman said: "MoD Police arrested a member of the Royal Navy on February 7 on suspicion of theft.

"He was interviewed and released on bail. A search of private property was also carried out and suspected MoD property recovered. The case has been passed to the Royal Navy Police for further investigation."

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I think it's good enough to understand "keh baraat kahan ja rahee hey"
US lead NATO should review their war strategies and try to overcome loopholes lying in their own systems if its is not any underhand agenda, rather then to blaming on Pakistan to undermine their weaknesses and poor millitry management of no-end.....

hmm... the forces who can not secure /control over their own fighting tools , how they can protect other nations.......Or is this some thing else undercover of WOT

[SSGPA1]

Here are some other points - During the Vietnam war, some Marines smuggled drugs into the US; during the Russian invasion, CIA helped smuggled drugs into he US.

This war is not any different then other wars and possibility is that some folks on the ISAF side might have sold gear and weapons for drugs.

Since the US invasion, poppy growth has increased and export of drugs has also increased.

I have read in Canadian print media that Canadian soldiers are not allowed to attack the poppfy fields or drug lords simply because it is not their mission.

Our problem is that we don't have leaders who can talk and we have media which is supporting an anti Pakistan stand.

[Anwar2]

Apparently this is good for business; adds a little turnover to the impoversihed economy of Darra Adamkhel, Khar and Parachinar.

[S-2]

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Here' the actual report. Pretty damning. Given the user list for the document, I imagine that there'll be some command emphasis here.

Small Arms Accountability- DoD I.G. Report

Enjoy.