50,000 '87 AK-47s, $20m for revolvers & Kalashnicov rifles

[donsu]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=512&ncid=1278&e=1&u=/ap/20040107/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq_weapons

Dem Senators Question Iraq Rifle Purchase

Two Democratic senators asked the U.S. occupation authority in Iraq (news - web sites) on Wednesday to explain its intended purchase of up to 50,000 AK-47 assault rifles for Iraq security forces, when they said the country is filled with such weapons.

-snip-

"We question whether this is an efficient use of U.S. taxpayer dollars in a country already awash with AK-47s, many of which have been confiscated by coalition forces and are sitting in stockpiles," Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote L. Paul Bremer III, head of the U.S. governing authority.

-snip-

Wyden and Dorgan said that last summer, the Coalition Provisional Authority purchased tens of thousands of AK-47 rifles and other weapons from dealers in Jordan and other countries.

-snip-

In September, according to The New York Times, the Iraqi Governing Council questioned why the occupation authority had issued a $20 million contract to buy new revolvers and Kalashnikov rifles for the Iraqi police when the U.S. military was confiscating tens of thousands of weapons every month from abandoned arsenals.
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maybe they are going to pass out all this fire power to the 3000 Embassy workers in our soon to be,new, giant Embassy.

and how come they are buying arms from another country and not the US? (although I think all gun factories should be dismantled)

[4dsc]

1. Most Iraqi's have these at home

but then again, most Iraqi's don't want to be in the new occupational army!!

[radwriter0555]

2. Well the US has to equip the other side to kill the guys on OUR side, HEY!

Isn't this LIKE IRAN/CONTRA?????????

Hmmm.....

[Superfly]

3. They can just come to my house...

I'll give them a good deal on various AKs