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US-Issued Ammo Found on Afghan Insurgents

Experts fear Pentagon-procured munitions finding their way to Taliban

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted May 20, 2009 1:27 AM CDT
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(Newser) – The resilience of Afghanistan's Taliban insurgency may be partly due to supplies from the US, according to a New York Times investigation. The majority of 30 rifle magazines recently found on dead insurgents were the same as those issued to the Afghan military by the US, strongly suggesting that Pentagon-supplied ammo is leaking from Afghan security forces to be used against American troops.

Military officials and arms experts fear that poor inventory control on the vast amount of weaponry sent to Afghanistan since 2001 means much of it could have been diverted by lax or corrupt officials. A US commander said the ammo could have come from battlefield losses, and that accountability for weapons issued to Afghan forces is a high priority. 

US soldiers make their way along a trail during an operation against the Taliban in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley last week. Ammo found on dead insurgents in the area is believed to be US-issued.
US soldiers make their way along a trail during an operation against the Taliban in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley last week. Ammo found on dead insurgents in the area is believed to be US-issued.   (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
Missiles fired at suspected Taliban positions from Apache helicopters explode as a US soldier mans a machine gun in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley last week.
Missiles fired at suspected Taliban positions from Apache helicopters explode as a US soldier mans a machine gun in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley last week.   (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
Afghan policemen look at arms and ammunition seized from suspected insurgents in Kandahar earlier this month.
Afghan policemen look at arms and ammunition seized from suspected insurgents in Kandahar earlier this month.   (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
Snarfeh
May 20, 2009 2:35 AM CDT
Ha...poor inventory control is, no doubt, part of the problem, but it would not surprise me to learn that Rumsfeld and Cheney brokered a few deals.

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Afghanistan • Taliban • US military • weapon • Afghanistan army • Afghanistan war • ammunition

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