ARMS BUYOUT Iraqi Leader Says He'll Extend Weapons Trade-In Program

[bemildred]

Reminds me of last April, getting incoherent. Is it
"we will crush the resistance" or is it "hey, wanna sell some guns?".


BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 18 - Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said Monday that an exchange of weapons for cash would be extended across the country in an effort to disarm Shiite militiamen and promote stability before national elections in January.

Meanwhile, responding to a request by the United States, Defense Minister Geoff Hoon of Britain told Parliament on Monday that the government was weighing whether to move troops to central Iraq from the southeast to free more Americans to fight insurgents.

South of Baghdad, where American troops are sweeping small towns to find insurgents, marines reported that they had captured a top leader in the financing chain of the Islamist militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

So far, the Iraqi government's eight-day-old weapons buyout program has brought in more than 1,000 heavy weapons like mortars and rocket launchers, as well as piles of ammunition and lighter weapons.

NY Times

[necso]

1. These guys

probably have considerable stockpiles of weapons -- and just might use the money to buy better ones.