GAO: Lost U.S. Weapons Might Be Slipping into Taliban HandsFebruary 19, 2009
 American assault rifles and other firearms might be slipping into the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Government Accountability Office warned after an audit. The congressionally ordered audit found lax inventory controls for tens of thousands of weapons, including AK-47 assault rifles, mortars, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, The Washington Post reported. The audit found that U.S. officials in Afghanistan may have also lost track of sensitive equipment such as night-vision goggles, a blow because they have long provided a critical edge against the Taliban in the rugged terrain. Many of the weapons supplied by NATO and the United States between 2004 and 2008 were left with few controls in the care of the Afghan-run military depots — places that often had little more than wooden doors and padlocks, the report found. The audit also found that basic accounting procedures, such as recording serial numbers — were routinely skipped, placing millions of dollars of weapons "at serious risk of theft or loss," The Washington Post noted, quoting the report. (photo by Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison, U.S. Air Force. Released) |
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