Thousands of Weapons went Missing in Iraq - reports surface were sold illegally. Top officials accused.
In 2004 the insurgency was growing in Iraq, and under a new policy America began issuing weapons to Kassim al-Saffar, an Iraqi businessman. The idea was that al-Saffar would then issue the weapons to Iraqi police cadets, being more efficient than the American government. Unfortunately, al-Saffar used the lack of American oversight to turn his distribution duties into a private arms dealership. Even scarier - it seems top American officials were aware of his practice and did nothing to stop it.
There is evidence that American AK-47 assault rifles, Glock pistols, and heavy machine guns were sold to the highest cash bidder. Instead of furnishing the Iraqi police force, the weapons were sold to Iraqi militias, South African security guards, and amazingly American contractors.
This offers the perfect explanation as to why auditors found 190,000 pistols and automatic rifles unaccounted for this year. Patreaus said he was more concerned about distribution during the surge than recording serial numbers, and it seems distribution is exactly what he got - often to the enemy insurgents.
“This was the craziest thing in the world,” said John Tisdale, a retired Air Force master sergeant who managed an adjacent warehouse. “They were taking weapons away by the truckload.” NYTThe question now turns to responsibility. Is this a situation of gross negligence by American officials, or did top officials allow the program for personal gain?
Mr. Tisdale said that he complained repeatedly to two top American Logistics executives, but they assured him that Mr. Saffar’s dealings were proper. The company has not responded to requests for comment.So we have thousands of weapons that entered the warehouses of Al-Saffar unrecorded, and reportedly left in the hands of the highest bidder. Which American private contract firms bought the weapons openly meant for the Iraqi police? How many American soldiers have died because of these dealings? And who allowed this to happen?
Mr. Tisdale and other co-workers said they believed that an American military official, Lt. Col. Levonda Joey Selph, an Army officer who oversaw the warehouse contract and whose activities have been part of the investigation into American Logistics, also must have known about the arms dealings. Mr. Tisdale said the colonel regularly visited the armory and met with Mr. Saffar. Mr. Nordgaarden recalled seeing Colonel Selph at the warehouse 8 to 10 times over a year.
In an brief encounter outside her Northern Virginia home, Colonel Selph would say only that she was not guilty of any wrongdoing, and that she was under orders not to speak to the press. She would not say whose orders. NYT
Veracifier will stay updated as this issue unfolds.Iraq, illegal arms, supply chain
