Oh to be someone who supplies weapons to the US military for distribution to the Iraqi forces. And I mean all the Iraqi forces, “good” guys and “bad,” police and criminals, military and militias, “allies” and terrorists/insurgents. It’s gotta be a great time for the bottom line!
WASHINGTON (AP) — Weapons the U.S. provides to Iraqi security forces may still be ending up in the hands of terrorists, insurgents and criminals, the Defense Department inspector general told Congress on Tuesday.
Appearing behind closed doors for a briefing before the House appropriations defense subcommittee, Kicklighter said his office received complaints nearly a year ago from Turkish officials that weapons intended for Iraq’s growing military and police forces were being used by militant groups in Turkey.
“We were also beginning to find some weapons that the U.S. had supplied to (Iraqi security forces) were in the hands and control of insurgent groups and U.S. contractors in Iraq,” he said.
Investigators found that a contractor implicated in a bribery scheme in Kuwait had a contract to run a warehouse where weapons for Iraq’s police force were stored, Kicklighter said.
You see, this is heaven made for manufacturers of any of the arms we (and by “we” I mean the American taxpayer as represented by the Bush administration and and an ever helpful Congress), out of a spirit of generosity and charity, have provided to the Iraqis. Not only do they go to the Iraqi security forces, but they go to everyone else in Iraq with a need for weapons, including the people trying to kill our troops. It creates a bigger market for their products. It’s Republican government manipulated free enterprise at its best!
No wonder President Bush issued a recent signing statement to the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill that indicates he won’t execute the provisions of that law that would “inhibit [his] ability to carry out his constitutional obligations.” Like, say, among other things, his constitutional obligation to insure that no government contractor for Iraq gets investigated for fraud or corruption. For example, here are some of the provisions of the law that Bush won’t be enforcing because they “inhibit” him:
One such provision sets up a commission to probe contracting fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another expands protections for whistleblowers who work for government contractors. A third requires that U.S. intelligence agencies promptly respond to congressional requests for documents.
Because after all, who wants to examine too closely where all those weapons are going and to whom? So inhibitory to the President’s ability to protect his friends in the arms industry, and all those poor beleagured contractors in Iraq just trying to make a dishonest buck out of this human tragedy of monumental proportions. Besides, you can’t have a war if only one side (and in Iraq there are so many sides) has all the weapons. That wouldn’t be fair, now would it? And who said chaos never did anyone any good? Why, it’s the ultimate in “shock and awe” capitalism at work.
To paraphrase a quote from the movie Dune “The Bullets and Bombs and RPG’s and .50 caliber machine guns and armored humvees (and on and on) must flow!” And flow they do, as does all that blood from those they help kill and maim. Makes one proud to be an American, doesn’t it?
