US Weapons Have a Nasty
Habit of Going AWOL
From Afghanistan to Yemen, a short history
of American arms ending up in the wrong
hands.
By AJ Vicens
March 20, 2015 "ICH"
- "Mother
Jones" - On
Tuesday, the
Washington Post reported that
the Pentagon can't say what happened to more
than $500 million worth of gear—including
"small arms, ammunition, night-vision
goggles, patrol boats, vehicles and other
supplies"—it had given to the Yemeni
government. The news comes as Al Qaeda and
Iranian-backed groups vie to control the
country following the
collapse of the country's US-backed regime
in January. The Post noted that the
Pentagon has stopped further shipments of
aid, but the damage has been done. "We have
to assume it's completely compromised and
gone," an anonymous legislative aide said.
This isn't the first time
US military aid to allies has gone AWOL or
wound up in the wrong hands. A few notable
examples:
Libya:
In late 2012, the
New York Times reported that
weapons from a US-approved deal had
eventually gone to Islamic militants in
Libya. The deal, which involved European
weapons sent to Qatar as well as US weapons
originally supplied to the United Arab
Emirates, had been managed from the
sidelines by the Obama administration.
Syria:
More than once, American arms intended to
help bolster the fight against ISIS in Syria
and northern Iraq have ended up in the
group's control. Last October, an airdrop of
small arms was blown off target by the wind,
according to the Guardian. ISIS
quickly posted a video of its fighters going
through crates of weapons attached to a
parachute.
Iraq:
American weapons
supplied to the Iraqi army have also found
their way ISIS via theft and capture. And
weapons meant for the Iraqi army have also
gone
to Shiite militias backed by Iran. This
isn't a new problem: As much as 30 percent
of the weapons the United States distributed
to Iraqi forces between 2004 and early 2007
could not be accounted for.
Afghanistan:
It's been
widely documented that American forces
invading Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11 had
to
face off against weapons the United
States had
once supplied to mujahideen fighters
battling the Soviets in the '80s.
Somalia:
In 2011,
Wired reported that as much as
half of the US-supplied arms given to Uganda
and Burundi in support of the fight against
al-Shabaab was winding up with the Somali
militant group.
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Jones
