Report: Pentagon Allowed Military Equipment Sold To Public (OMG!)

[ProSense]

Report: Pentagon Allowed Military Equipment Sold To Public

POSTED: 10:46 pm EDT July 21, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Undercover government investigators purchased sensitive surplus military equipment such as launcher mounts for shoulder-fired missiles and guided missile radar test sets from a Defense Department contractor.

Snip...

In June, two GAO investigators spent $1.1 million on such equipment at two excess property warehouses. Their purchases included several types of body armor inserts used by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, an all-band antenna used to track aircraft, and a digital signal converter used in naval surveillance.

"The body armor could be used by terrorists or other criminal activity," noted the report, obtained Friday by The Associated Press. "Many of the other military items have weapons applications that would also be useful to terrorists."

Thousands of items that should have been destroyed were sold to the public, the report said. Much of the equipment was sold for pennies on the dollar.

The list included circuit cards used in computerized Navy systems, a cesium technology timing unit with global positioning capabilities, and 12 digital microcircuits used in F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft.

At least 2,669 sensitive military items were sold to 79 buyers in 216 sales transactions from November 2005 to June 2006.

"DOD has not enforced security controls for preventing sensitive excess military equipment from release to the public," the report concluded. "GAO was able to purchase these items because controls broke down at virtually every step in the excess property turn-in and disposal process."

more...

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/9559531/detail.html?rss=atl&psp=nationalnews/div]

[mmonk]

1. Rightwing world is fascinating, isn't it?

[Frustratedlady]

2. We are our own worst enemy. Unreal! eom

[villager]

3. Reminds me of the Costa-Gavras film "Betrayed"

where this was done on purpose -- so the military could funnel weapons to domestic rightwing groups...

[acmavm]

4. I bet we got troops in Iraq and Afganistan who really could be using

those body armor inserts. And wish they had them.

[proud patriot]

5. well isn't that lovely

:sarcasm:

[Just Me]

6. You should go to our local "flea market". Pretty freaky.

The last couple of years, I've avoided it because of the weapons for sale. *shakes head* I can't believe such arms can be sold like that. Before Bush, there were maybe a couple of tables offering sale of small, hand arms and rifles.

Now, it's just,...freaky.

[MADem]

7. Man, that's a far cry from shitty old SELECTRIC IIs, office chairs,

dinged up desks, and filing cabinets that you usually find at those warehouses!!!!

DOD is BROKEN. And it has been broken ever since Bill Cohen left, and Rummy the Dummy moved in.

[peacetalksforall]

9. During the Comptroller reign of Doc Zakheim, the DOD found that

440 billion couldn't be accounted for. Zakheim - ultra right wing Rumsfeld buddy.

The man left his company - making remote controls for aircraft to be Comptroller, then quit and went back to his company, if the report is
accurate.

Correct me if this is wrong. It might have been 404 billion.

[MADem]

11. I remember seeing that report...it was a SHITLOAD, at any rate NT

[Ian David]

8. That's how I bought my My Illudiom Pew 36 Explosive Space Modulator

The Earth obstructs my view of Venus.

[ErisFiveFingers]

10. FEAR TERRA FEAR TERRA FEAR..... wait.... FUD?

OH NOOOOOOOO...... hey, waitjustasecond.... Okay, lets' take a look at it without the over-sensationalizing, and telling americans to be scared:

1. launcher mounts for shoulder-fired missiles -Heavy duty tripods? Like the kind that movie studios use to hold up heavy cameras?
2. guided missile radar test sets -Not guided missles, not even guided missle radar, but "test sets". So, a group of things to test guided missle radar. Like, oh, an estes rocket, purchasable at a local hobby shop, or even just a voltmeter?
3. body armor inserts -Totally civillian legal, as well.
4. an all-band antenna -Same. Not only that, but they're easy to make.
5. and a digital signal converter used in naval surveillance. -Oh noes! A modern DSP chipset is being sold? Like the ones in *every* *sound card* in millions of desktop computers?.
6. circuit cards used in computerized Navy systems -Ack, the terrorists might get their hands on our ancient technology, instead of buying it down at Fry's like everyone else!
7. a cesium technology timing unit with global positioning capabilities, -A GPS, the horror!
8. 12 digital microcircuits -No, not our precious IC's! I hope terrorists don't ever hear about Radio Shack....

Chillingly, I am reminded that the USSR heavily regulated Xerox machines, because they *could* be used for terrorist purposes. So let's turn this all around:

1. launcher mounts for shoulder-fired missiles -Heavy duty tripods should be controlled by the covernment.
2. guided missile radar test sets -Electronics and primitive rockets should be controlled by the government.
3. body armor inserts -Who can protect themselves against being injured should be controlled by the government.
4. an all-band antenna -Who can listen into radios, and what channels can be heard, should be controlled by the government.
5. and a digital signal converter used in naval surveillance. -Who can convert analog and digital signals should be controlled by the government.
6. circuit cards used in computerized Navy systems -Who can use computer cards should be controlled by the government.
7. a cesium technology timing unit with global positioning capabilities -Who can navigate without a map should be controlled by the government.
8. 12 digital microcircuits -Who can build their own electronics should be controlled by the government.

Hm. Once again, proof that Americans are being manipulated out of basic rights by Rethuglicans and the drumbeat of fear.

[benEzra]

12. Excellent post. (n/t)

[ProSense]

13. Just because Republicans are fear mongers and liars

doesn't mean that greedy and dangerous people are a myth! There still are criminals who would sell America out to the highest bidder!

[jmowreader]

15. A modern DSP chipset that's been programmed!

Is your sound card designed to look at the Pulse Repetition Frequency of radar signals? Or, more to the point, can it tell you when a multimode radar system switched from target-tracking mode to missile-guidance mode? Can it tell the difference between an Israeli bomb's proximity fuze and a Lebanese antiaircraft gun's targeting radar?

It's not the "modern DSP chipset" they're worried about. They're probably just buying off-the-shelf Motorola DSPs. It's all the software that tells the DSPs what to do.

[Hubert Flottz]

14. Fire Rumbo and his boss!

"They're either with us or against us." If they're selling weapons to terrorists, they are "with them."