Iraq
Senior Spy Accuses Iraqi PM of Giving Away US Guns in Bid to Buy Votes
Sydney Morning Herald
2 March 2010
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A senior Iraqi spy has accused the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, of handing out thousands of guns to tribal leaders in an attempt to win votes. The claim was made by a former spokesman for the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, Saad al-Alusi, a week before Iraq's general election, in which allegations of vote buying and exorbitant handouts have been widespread. Mr Maliki, who faces a bitterly contested... ( gunpolicy.org )
Afghanistan,Iraq,United States
Michigan Firm to Remove 'Bible Code' from Weapon Sold to Kill Muslims
New York Times
21 January 2010
Bowing to Pentagon concerns and an international outcry, a Michigan arms company said Thursday that it would immediately stop embossing references to New Testament Scriptures on rifle sights it sells the military. The company, Trijicon Inc., has multimillion-dollar contracts with the Pentagon for advanced telescopic sights that are widely used in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trijicon also said it would provide the Pentagon with 100 free... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq,United States
Security Contractor Weapons, Ammo, Seized in Iraqi Polce Raid
Reuters
9 January 2010
Police raided three locations in Baghdad on Friday, a week after Iraqi authorities were incensed by a U.S. judge's decision to throw out charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing over a dozen Iraqi civilians in 2007. Officials said they are targeting private security companies that are no longer legally licensed to operate in Iraq. "All those companies with their work permits expired are... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Blackwater Shootings Inflame Iraqi Anti-American Sentiment
Associated Press
4 January 2010
BAGHDAD,Iraq - The Iraqi prime minister vowed Monday to seek punishment for the Blackwater guards accused of killing 17 people at a busy Baghdad intersection after U.S. courts dropped the case in a decision that outraged many Iraqis. Nouri al-Maliki's comments were his first public reaction since a U.S. judge threw out the case against the five Blackwater guards last week. The guards were accused of an unprovoked attack... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
New Penalty for Shooting a Gun in Iraqi Province is 1million Dinars
Aswat al-Iraq (Iraq)
5 October 2009
MISSAN -- Head of the Missan council's security committee announced on Monday imposing a fine of one million Iraqis dinars ($855) against those who open fire in the province. "The security committee decided in coordination with the Missan council and police department to impose one million dinars as a fine for those who shoot in the province," Sarhan Salem Youni told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that the punishment includes... ( gunpolicy.org )
Turkey, United States, Iraq
Turkey Traces Gun Crime to Flood of Glock Pistols Supplied by US to Iraq
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
24 August 2009
ANKARA -- A recent report by the Security General Directorate's anti-smuggling and organized crime unit has revealed that 514 of 522 Glock pistols used in crimes in Turkey were originally ordered by the US for its troops in Iraq and that the weapons were used in 25 separate murders, including the 2006 Council of State shooting. The Security General Directorate's anti-smuggling and organized crime unit has prepared a report on the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Kurds Give Guns to Supporters, Celebratory Gunfire Injures, Kills Dozens
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
18 August 2009
SULAIMANIYAH and ERBIL -- Weapons loudly welcomed the outcome of Iraqi Kurdistan's latest political contest, and may even discreetly have helped determine it. In the run-up to last month's election, politicians gifted guns to prominent supporters. When the results were announced, celebratory gunfire streaked the night skies. Opposition leaders said the weapons had been dished out to buy votes. Their rivals denied this,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States
US Marines Recycle Small Arms from One Side of Iraq War to the Other
US Marine Corps, Media release
7 August 2009
CAMP TAJI, Iraq -- Marines with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), delivered roughly 900 captured enemy weapons to the Taji National Maintenance Depot aboard Camp Taji, Iraq, July 28, 2009. This was one in a series of transfers that have taken place since 2004 under an agreement requiring enemy weapons captured by the U.S. military to be turned over to the Iraqi government for future use by the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom, Europe, Iraq, Afghanistan
British Troops Smuggle Guns from Iraq, Afghanistan to Europe, UK
Birmingham Post (UK)
3 August 2009
British troops are smuggling guns and drugs into the UK and Europe and selling them on to criminal gangs, a former soldier from the Midlands has claimed. The ex-serviceman said it was "megaeasy" to bring back weapons from Iraq and Afghanistan and said some soldiers had become adept at hiding weapons and shipping them back from the frontline. Handguns are brought back inside field radios and tool boxes -- while grenades... ( gunpolicy.org )
Serbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, United States
Record Assault Weapon Exports from Serbia Fuel US, Iraq, Afghan Wars
BBC Worldwide Monitoring / Blic Daily
4 June 2009
Last year Serbia's export of weapons and military equipment reached a record high at 400m euros, with 236m dollars for Iraq. This year export deals are worth more than 500m euros. Five out of six factories of the military industry have sold out their capacities completely for this year. Zastava Arms alone plans to export 30m dollars in 2009, which is 30 per cent more than this year. Manager Rade Gromovic told Blic that the factory... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
'Deeply Angry' US Sergeant Shot, Killed 5 at Combat Stress Clinic in Iraq
Associated Press
13 May 2009
Keith Springle, who grew up swimming and fishing off the North Carolina coast and seemed destined as a boy to join the Navy, was in Iraq because it was his duty as a military psychologist. Dr. Matthew Houseal, a 54-year-old Army reservist and psychiatrist, was there because he felt he needed to be. Regardless of how they came to be there, both made it their mission to help their fellow service members cope with the stress of life... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States
Five Americans Shot Dead By US Soldier at Baghdad Military Stress Clinic
Associated Press
11 May 2009
WASHINGTON -- Pentagon officials say five Americans are dead after a U.S. soldier opened fire at a U.S. base in Baghdad. They say the attacker is in custody. The officials say the shootings happened on Camp Liberty at a stress clinic, where troops can go for help with the stresses of combat or stress from personal issues. One senior military official in Washington says it's unclear whether those killed are workers at the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Iraq-US Gun Smuggler Links Guns to Blackwater Guards Killing Civilians
Associated Press
6 May 2009
RALEIGH, North Carolina -- A defense contractor charged with trying to smuggle firearms out of Iraq claimed Blackwater guards asked him to help get rid of weapons after a deadly 2007 shooting in Baghdad, two government informants say in court documents. The contractor told one of the informants that Blackwater guards wanted to dispose of the weapons before an investigation into the September 2007 shooting that left several civilians... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Special Forces Veteran 'Attempted to Smuggle' Iraqi Machine Guns to US
Washington Examiner
4 May 2009
Federal prosecutors say a former Army Special Forces soldier turned Department of Defense contractor attempted to smuggle eight machine guns from Iraq to Fort Bragg. John A. Houston, who retired as a sergeant major in 2006 to become a security subcontractor working in Baghdad, allegedly sent the weapons, illegal under U.S. law, through contacts in the military. He claimed to two government informants that some of the guns... ( gunpolicy.org )
Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan
Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan Arming Village Vigilantes with Flood of Guns
Christian Science Monitor
4 March 2009
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- In the town of Budaber, six miles from Peshawar's city center, Daud Khan makes sure his Kalashnikov is loaded before stepping into the dark street. As he walks out, seven young men join him, all armed. Mr. Khan is a member of the nighttime civilian patrols that guard the streets and escort residents home. They usually work from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., the peak time for bomb attacks, a local says. Do-it-yourself... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Albania, Afghanistan, China, Iraq
US Repays Millions to Indicted Miami-Albania-Iraq-China Ammo Dealer
New Times (Florida)
3 February 2009
On March 15, 2008, a fireball shot into the midday sky over Albania's capital of Tirana. The blast echoed 100 miles away in Macedonia and Kosovo. Its force was comparable to that of a small nuclear weapon. But this wasn't atomic. It was an accident at an arms depot, where poor villagers had been hired to handle old ammunition and artillery shells. The explosion killed up to 26 people and injured hundreds. The village of Gerdec was obliterated.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Blackwater 'On Probation' Over Illegal Gun, Ammo Exports from US to Iraq
Associated Press
17 December 2008
RALEIGH, North Carolina -- The State Department has issued new regulations to closely monitor how Blackwater Worldwide exports sensitive equipment, such as guns and ammunition, putting the security contractor on probation amid probes into how the company handled arms shipments to Iraq. The so-called "policy of denial" was posted Wednesday. It requires the North Carolina company and its affiliates to file extra paperwork and progress... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US to Ship Another 105,000 Assault Rifles to Iraq to 'Replace' AK-47s
Defense Industry Daily (USA)
15 December 2008
In March 2008, "Iraq's Military Requesting $1.39B in Weapons, Vehicles, and Equipment" discussed that country's decisive shift to the M-16/M4 family of weapons for its soldiers. Previous DSCA purchase requests in October 2007 and September 2006 has also included the rifles, but by February 2008, it became clear that this was a full replacement program for the AK-derivative 7.62mm designs that had become so ubiquitous in that part of the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States
Confiscating Toy Guns from Children Is Part of US Military Mission in Iraq
Associated Press
12 December 2008
MAHMOUDIYA, Iraq -- Two boys approached a U.S. soldier, pulled out a pistol and handed it over. They got a smile and some candy in return. The gun was plastic, and the boys were following a local Iraqi military order to surrender all toy weapons -- an effort to prevent children from being mistaken for insurgents. With more children on the streets now that violence is down, American soldiers have a new mission in this former... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US Defense Dept Plans to Send Another 105,000 Assault Rifles to Iraq
US Defense Security Cooperation Agency
10 December 2008
WASHINGTON -- On Dec. 9, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq of (80,000) M16A4 5.56MM Rifles, (25,000) M4 5.56MM Carbines, (2,550) M203 40MM Grenade Launchers as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $148 million. The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of (80,000) M16A4 5.56MM Rifles,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, Bulgaria
Kurds in Northern Iraq Receive 3 Planeloads of Guns, Arms from Bulgaria
Washington Post Foreign Service
23 November 2008
BAGHDAD -- Kurdish officials this fall took delivery of three planeloads of small arms and ammunition imported from Bulgaria, three U.S. military officials said, an acquisition that occurred outside the weapons procurement procedures of Iraq's central government. The large quantity of weapons and the timing of the shipment alarmed U.S. officials, who have grown concerned about the prospect of an armed confrontation between Iraqi... ( gunpolicy.org )
Bulgaria, Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan
Bulgaria, 7 Other Nations Make 'Unlicensed, Illegal' AK-47s, Export to Iraq
FOCUS News Agency (Bulgaria) / Praim-TASS
20 November 2008
MOSCOW -- 7-8 countries in the world are currently dealing with unlicensed production of machine guns "Kalashnikov", Nikolay Dimidyuk from Rosoboronexport said, cited by Praim-TASS. According to his evaluation there was a total nuisance in the world regarding the production of 'false' Kalashnikov guns, in particular in Bulgaria. 'I will not mention other countries, so as not to offend them. The Americans allowed Bulgaria... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq, Jordan
Blackwater Faces Millions in Fines for 'Unauthorised' US-Iraq Gun Exports
Public Record (USA), Web Page
9 November 2008
Private security contractor Blackwater Worldwide may be slapped with millions of dollars in fines by the State Department for shipping weapons to law enforcement facilities in Iraq and Jordan without authorization, according to a report published in the magazine Government Executive. "Officials in the Commerce Department, which has jurisdiction over some military exports, are conducting a related regulatory review of Blackwater... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Weapon Leak Feared in Blackwater's 'Improper' Gun Shipments to Iraq
CongressDaily (USA)
7 November 2008
Private security contractor Blackwater Worldwide, often a target of congressional Democrats, soon may face new legal problems. A grand jury in Washington is expected to decide soon whether to indict individual Blackwater guards involved in a widely publicized shooting incident in Baghdad last year, two people familiar with the investigation said. And the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, which is responsible... ( gunpolicy.org )
Pakistan, Iraq, China
Tens of Thousands More AK-47s Given to Tribal Fighters in Pakistan, Iraq
Australian (Sydney)
24 October 2008
Anti-Taliban tribal fighters in Pakistan's border region will be given tens of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles bought from China in a bid to replicate the success of the "Sunni Awakening" movement in Iraq. The deal to buy the weapons and other small arms was negotiated by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari when he was in Beijing this month, reports said yesterday. The Washington Post said the weapons would go to the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US Can Finally Track Guns Given to Iraq: Bush Signs White House Letter
Chicago Tribune / The Swamp, Blog
23 October 2008
It took years to reach this point but the Bush Administration has finally put in place a system to track the weapons it's providing to Iraqi security forces. For years, there've been concerns about thousands of weapons delivered to the Iraqi military and police that have gone missing with the obvious fear that some have wound up in enemy hands to be used against the U.S. military. The White House notified Congress today... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Americans Prevent Gun Violence in Baghdad More Than They Do At Home
Stars and Stripes (US Military)
16 October 2008
BAGHDAD -- In the past, the soldiers with 1st Battalion, 68th Infantry would have had no problem finding an AK-47 assault rifle in Omar Abdul Satar's home. Iraqis have a long history of owning guns, and few homes in the country are without one. But the government is trying to change that. It recently decided to prohibit guns in the capital. That was bad news for Satar. When the U.S. soldiers and their Iraqi counterparts found his... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
After Killings and Kidnappings, Iraq Govt Says Doctors Can Carry Guns
Reuters
29 September 2008
BAGDHAD -- Doctors in Iraq will have the right to carry guns to protect themselves, the government said on Monday, in a bid to address the security concerns of a profession that has been targeted by gangsters and militants. Thousands of Iraqi doctors have fled over the past five years, leaving the country desperately short of qualified medical personnel. Doctors held a conference in Baghdad in June to ask for better protection.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Albania, Iraq
Pentagon Gave $298 Million Iraq Ammo Deal to 'Total Nerd' Gun Dealer
Miami New Times
25 September 2008
David Packouz talks about nanotech the way 12-year-old girls talk about Zac Efron. In a great, fawning gush of words, he explains it will bring about a technological utopia on Earth. Humans, he says, will interface with computers, replace their bodies with machinery, and become immortal. Spacecraft will mine asteroids, and robots will reach human levels of intelligence and self-replicate. "At that point," he says, looking excited and a little... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States
US Pays Clandestine Gun Dealers to Flood Iraq with Millions of Weapons
Asia Times / Inter Press Service News Agency
24 September 2008
SAN FRANCISCO -- Clandestine gun suppliers, funded by the United States and Iraqi governments, have flooded Iraq with millions of weapons since 2003, charges a new Amnesty International investigation. Because of faulty or non-existent government tracking systems, many of those guns have gone missing, and some have turned up in the hands of insurgents. Contracts with one of these companies, Taos Industries, account for almost... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, United Kingdom, Iraq, United Nations
US, UK Failing to Monitor Flood of Million Guns into Iraq, Amnesty Warns
Guardian (UK)
17 September 2008
Iraq is being flooded with weapons despite human rights violations by all parties in the conflict there, and without any proper monitoring by the US and Britain over where the weapons end up, Amnesty International says today. There is no clear accountable audit trail for some 360,000 small arms supplied to the Iraqi security forces, many by the US and UK, it says. Subcontracting makes the arms trade even less transparent. Among... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States, United Nations
Pentagon Floods 530-000-strong Iraqi Forces with Another Million Guns
Sydney Morning Herald / AFP
17 September 2008
World governments should pledge to actively prevent sales of weapons that are likely to be used in human rights violations in a new arms treaty under negotiation, Amnesty International said on Wednesday. Whether used by the military in Burma to disperse protesters in September 2007, or by Somali armed factions terrorising the streets of Mogadishu, the human rights group warned small weapons had "catastrophic" effects worldwide.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Afghanistan, Iraq
Lax Management by US, UK, Italy Armed al-Qaida, Says Amnesty Report
Middle East Times (Cairo) / UPI
17 September 2008
WASHINGTON -- Weak oversight of arms deals by the United States, England and Italy resulted in the illicit arming of al-Qaida, a new report by Amnesty International says. The international non-governmental organization says that despite new measures implemented to regulate arms deals, thousands of weapons have ended up in the hands of al-Qaida militants operating in Iraq, Amnesty International reported. The report, titled... ( gunpolicy.org )
Turkey, Poland, Austria, Iraq, Bulgaria, Germany
Turkey Protests Polish, Austrian, US, Iraqi Supply of Guns to Kurdish PKK
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
19 August 2008
ANKARA -- Polish-made fully automatic Glauberyt submachine guns that were apparently purchased during the reign of Saddam Hussein are now in the hands of the PKK terrorist organization. Turkey and Poland are currently in a row over these weapons. Iraq's chaotic environment following the 2003 US invasion has allowed weapons from around the world to make it into the hands of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK). ... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, Afghanistan, United Nations, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania, Serbia
Iraq, Afghan Wars, Exports from Bosnia, Albania Hurt Bid to Destroy Guns
Agence France Presse
15 July 2008
UNITED NATIONS -- The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are undermining efforts to destroy surplus weapons by creating new markets for countries to sell their unwanted firearms, according to a survey. Although the world is witnessing "the largest systematic destruction of military small arms and light weapons since the end of World War II," countries that would normally have destroyed their surplus weapons are now being encouraged to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations, Iraq, Colombia, Afghanistan
Civilians Alone 'Lose' 650,000 Guns Each Year, Says Study Released at UN
Reuters
14 July 2008
UNITED NATIONS -- Every year hundreds of thousands of small arms go missing and many wind up in the hands of insurgents in countries like Iraq, Colombia and Afghanistan, a new survey published on Monday said. The annual report issued by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey said that as many as 650,000 civilian-owned weapons go missing. This figure excludes the considerable amount of weapons that are diverted -- usually meaning stolen... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States
Stray Weapons, Careless Gun Handling, Storage at US Embassy, Baghdad
Associated Press
10 July 2008
WASHINGTON -- Trying to escape Baghdad's sweltering summer with a quick Green Zone dip? Don't forget your poolside weapons etiquette if you work at the U.S. Embassy there. Despite previous appeals, embassy employees with permission to carry guns are apparently not heeding strict rules that require arms to be within their reach or with a designated person at all times, even at the pool, The Associated Press has learned. And if you're... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Soccer Fans Will be Arrested in Iraq if Caught Firing Guns in Celebration
Los Angeles Times
22 June 2008
BAGHDAD -- Sports became a surprise topic Sunday during a routine news briefing by the U.S. and Iraqi armed forces on the battle against the insurgency. With Iraq's beloved national soccer team poised to qualify for the World Cup in its game against Qatar on Sunday night, Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, spokesman for the Iraqi government's "Imposing the Law" campaign, delivered a stern warning to gun owners -- essentially every adult male... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US Marine Won't Serve Time for Smuggling AK-47 'War Trophy' from Iraq
Associated Press
2 June 2008
SAN DIEGO - A Marine sergeant from El Paso, Texas, accused of bringing an AK-47 assault rifle home from Iraq as a war trophy accepted a plea deal Monday that will keep him out of federal prison. Sgt. Leonardo San Juan agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of possession of an unregistered firearm and pay a $100 fine, said his attorney, Joseph Low. San Juan accepted the deal shortly before jury selection was set to begin.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Serbia, Iraq
Serbia Begins Exporting Another 18,000 Handguns to Iraqi Security Forces
B92 Radio (Belgrade)
2 June 2008
KRAGUJEVAC, Serbia -- The first consignment of CZ 99 handguns destined for the Iraq market will be shipped out of the Zastava factory three weeks ahead of schedule. Even though the first shipment was first planned for July, according to CEO Rade Gromovic, the weapons are ready and the permits necessary for exporting them have been secured, so the date has been shifted to June 11. This will mark the official beginning of... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Afghanistan, Iraq, Albania
Inferior Ammunition to Afghanistan Leads US Army to Review Arms Policy
New York Times
27 April 2008
MOSCOW -- The United States Army has begun a broad review of procedures used to supply security forces in Afghanistan and Iraq with foreign arms, prompted by an allegation of fraud and questions about the competence of the main private supplier of ammunition to Afghanistan. The company, AEY Inc. of Miami Beach, was suspended last month after Army investigators accused it of shipping aged Chinese rifle cartridges and claiming they... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom, Iraq, Afghanistan, Europe
Guns 'Commonly' Smuggled in UK Army Vehicles Crossing Europe from Iraq
BBC News
25 April 2008
Two former soldiers who were jailed for their involvement in a gun smuggling ring have said the practice is common in the British army. Shane Pleasant and Ben Whitfield were in the Third Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment, when they helped to smuggle weapons from Iraq into Europe. They said if soldiers had the right contacts it was easy to smuggle weapons out of countries. The MoD said there was no evidence such... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
To Curb Children's Aggressive Behaviour, Iraq Mulls Ban on Toy Gun Imports
Associated Press
22 April 2008
BAGHDAD -- A parliamentary committee is drafting a bill that would ban imports of toy guns and fireworks into Iraq, hoping to curb increasingly aggressive behavior among children who have grown up amid real war, a lawmaker said Tuesday. "The culture of violence has prevailed in our society and controlled the Iraqi family, and that has affected the culture of children," said Samira al-Moussawi, head of parliament's committee on children... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Cash Reward Offered to Baghdad Fighters Who Give Up Their Guns
Los Angeles Times
29 March 2008
BAGHDAD -- Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Friday extended a deadline for fighters to disarm after nobody responded, and U.S. forces were pulled deeper into the showdown between Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen. The United States military said a Navy jet had strafed a mortar-launching position in the southern city of Basra with 20-millimeter cannon fire Thursday night, killing three "criminal militia members." It was the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Afghanistan, Iraq, China
US Army Accuses Miami Gun Dealer of Fraud in $200m Afghan Ammo Deal
New York Times
28 March 2008
When the United States Army decided this week to suspend the main supplier of munitions to Afghan security forces from future federal work, it did so after a field investigation documented what it called an act of fraud. Last Nov. 25, the president of the company, Efraim E. Diveroli, signed papers certifying that 28 pallets of ammunition for Afghanistan had been manufactured by MFS 2000, a Hungarian company, according to the investigators'... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Afghanistan, China, Albania, Iraq
US Offers 22yr-old Miami Man $300m for Old, Often Dud Afghan War Ammo
New York Times
27 March 2008
Since 2006, when the insurgency in Afghanistan sharply intensified, the Afghan government has been dependent on American logistics and military support in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. But to arm the Afghan forces that it hopes will lead this fight, the American military has relied since early last year on a fledgling company led by a 22-year-old man whose vice president was a licensed masseur. With the award... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States
US Fuels Iraq War with Another 437,079 M16, M4 Assault Rifles Over 3 Years
Defense Industry Daily (USA)
26 March 2008
As Iraq's military gets back to its feet, it has received armored vehicles, up-armored Hummers, and assorted weapons, vehicles, and aircraft. The initial priority on armed combat forces that could be supported by American combat logistics has started to give way to a buildup of Iraq's own logistics and maintenance capabilities. On March 21/08, the US DSCA announced a formal request by Iraq's government for various vehicles, small... ( gunpolicy.org )
Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, China
Demand for Guns Soars in Lebanon - Detailed Survey of Availability, Costs
BBC Worldwide Monitoring / Al-Hayat (London), Transcript
18 March 2008
BEIRUT -- The Lebanese are talking these days about the phenomenon of the spread of weapons and the increasing trade in them. Many say this is a prelude to the ignition of rounds of warfare with the looming shadows of the sharp political and sectarian split seen on the Lebanese arena. Al-Hayat prepared a report on this phenomenon. It met weapons merchants, political activists, and civilians who revealed that the weapons market in Lebanon... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
200,000 Missing Guns at Centre of US, Iraq, Kuwait Military Corruption Probe
KippReport (Dubai) / Trends Magazine
16 March 2008
Major Gloria D. Davis of the US Army was buried in Washington's Arlington Cemetery, the last resting place of many of America's military heroes, on December 23, 2006. But the 47-year-old Davis, of Missouri, an 18-year army veteran, did not perish fighting her country's enemies. Instead, the US Army said, she died in "a non-combat-related incident" in Iraq. In fact, Gloria Davis put a bullet in her brain on December 12 in her quarters... ( gunpolicy.org )
Serbia, Iraq
Serbian Arms Industry Expects to Thrive on Major Gun Making Deal with Iraq
BBC Worldwide Monitoring / Beta News Agency, Transcript
10 March 2008
The contract on exporting weapons and military equipment to Iraq, worth 236m dollars, which the Serbian arms trading company Jugoimport SDPR signed with the government of Iraq, is the most significant deal the Serbian military industry has made since the end of 1990, when a contract was signed with Kuwait about the exports of 175 domestically produced M-84 tanks. The first instalment, adding up to 20 per cent of what the deal is... ( gunpolicy.org )
Germany, United States, Iraq, Afghanistan
German Gun Maker H&K Dumps 'Unique Partnership' with Blackwater USA
Deutsche Welle (Germany)
19 February 2008
Weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch said it would end its relationship with Blackwater after German media reported that the controversial US-run military firm was using its guns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Blackwater, a private security company which has been contracted to protect high-profile US officials and foreign dignitaries in Iraq, had been using Heckler & Koch machine guns in both Iraq and Afghanistan, German broadcaster ARD's... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Iraqis Quietly Reverse Decision to Strip Female Police Officers of Guns
Los Angeles Times
1 February 2008
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi police officials have dropped plans to disarm policewomen and give their guns to male officers after an outcry from critics, who said the move was a sign of religious zealots' rising influence in Iraq. Despite the turnabout, which police confirmed Thursday, the U.S. military general who introduced women into the police force said they remained hindered in their attempts to practice real policing skills. "Even... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US Still Can't Track, Trace, Prevent Diversion of Weapons Sent to Iraq
Associated Press
29 January 2008
WASHINGTON -- Weapons the U.S. provides to Iraqi security forces may still be ending up in the hands of terrorists, insurgents and criminals, the Defense Department inspector general told Congress on Tuesday. While U.S. commanders have made progress in controlling the flow of tens of thousands of munitions into Iraq, "there still remains work to be accomplished," Claude Kicklighter said in prepared remarks obtained by The Associated... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom, Iraq
Gun Used to Shoot Policewoman Linked to UK Troops Smuggling Weapons
United Press International
30 December 2007
NOTTINGHAM, England -- Authorities have linked a gun used in a recent attempted homicide in Britain to the country's military. National Ballistics Intelligence Program officers said the weapon used to shoot police officer Rachael Brown in the city of Nottingham was likely smuggled back from Afghanistan or Iraq by British troops, or was stolen from one of the country's military bases, The Observer reported Sunday. While... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Iraqis Celebrate by Firing Guns Into the Air, Stray Bullet Hits British Officer
Sky News (UK)
23 December 2007
An RAF officer had a lucky escape despite being hit by a stray bullet during celebratory gunfire by a group of Iraqis. Flight Lieutenant Neil Lawrenson was wearing body armour -- but the round went into his upper arm. However, it entered at such an angle that it left almost no damage and did not hit any bone or muscle. If the bullet, which fell from the sky in Basra, had gone in at a different angle, the British... ( gunpolicy.org )
Serbia, Iraq
Serbia: Iraq Buys Another $230m Worth of Assault Weapons, Ammunition
ADN Kronos International / AKI (Italy)
21 December 2007
BELGRADE -- Serbia has signed a deal to export weapons and military equipment to Iraq worth 230 million dollars, defence minister Dragan Sutanovac told Belgrade television late on Thursday. Sutanovac said that the delegation of the Iraqi defence ministry visited Serbia on two occasions in recent months and the deal was signed with the state military trade company Jugoimport SDPR. He didn't specify which weapons had been... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Pentagon Rushes to Release Delayed Gun Shipments to Iraq, Curb Leakage
Times of India / AP
21 December 2007
WASHINGTON -- The US Defence Department is reinforcing a badly understaffed office in Baghdad to speed the flow of war-fighting gear to Iraqi forces and to make sure the weapons do not end up in the hands of insurgents or on the black market. The nearly 1,000 per cent increase in staff -- from six people to almost 70 -- includes a two-star general, who arrived in Iraq two weeks ago to manage the expanding team. Army Reserve Maj... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Pentagon Probes Possible GI Theft, Leakage of Up to 190,000 Guns to Iraq
Time (USA)
20 December 2007
The Pentagon is investigating whether some of the 190,000 weapons the U.S. military lost track of while training Iraqi troops were peddled on the black market by American soldiers and contractors, federal law-enforcement and congressional sources tell TIME. In recent weeks, Claude Kicklighter, the Pentagon's inspector general, has privately told lawmakers that the Defense Criminal Investigative Service has launched a probe into whether U.S.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
US Drive to Train, Arm Female Iraqi Police Thwarted by Religious Leaders
Los Angeles Times
13 December 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi government has ordered all policewomen to hand in their guns for redistribution to men or face having their pay withheld, thwarting a U.S. initiative to bring women into the nation's police force. The Ministry of Interior, which oversees police, issued the order late in November, according to ministry documents, U.S. officials and several of the women. It affects all officers who have earned the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States
Iraqi Soldiers Trade Iconic Soviet Assault Rifle, AK-47, for American M16
Los Angeles Times
2 December 2007
BESMAYA RANGE, Iraq -- The company of Iraqi soldiers pressed together for the dance of valor, singing of their bravery, stomping in the desert sand, thrusting their weapons skyward, just as they might have done not so many years ago to honor Saddam Hussein. But what were those sleek silhouettes they jabbed into the air? Not AK-47s. The iconic Soviet bloc assault rifle that has been synonymous for decades with America's adversaries... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom, Iraq, Germany
British Soldiers Smuggled Guns from Iraq, Sold in Germany: Got 10yrs Jail
BBC News
23 November 2007
Two soldiers who smuggled guns out of Iraq intending to sell them to army colleagues have been jailed. Lance Corporal Michael White, 28, was jailed for 10 years and Corporal Anthony Creswick, 25, given nine-and-half years. Both men from the 3rd Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, along with Lance Corporal Brent Campbell who bought a gun, were also thrown out of the army. The Court Martial at Catterick Garrison... ( gunpolicy.org )
Turkey, Iraq
Kurdish Politician Allegedly Smuggled 11 Glock Pistols from Iraq to Turkey
Turkish Daily News / SIRNAK / Dogan News Agency
20 November 2007
A member of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) was arrested at the Habur Customs Gate for being in the possession of 11 handguns yesterday. The Gendarmerie command after receiving a tip off searched Sirin Balaman's taxi, who was returning from northern Iraq, at customs. Officers found 11 Glock brand handguns, a model that has been used in assassinations in the past, hidden in special compartments in Balaman's... ( gunpolicy.org )
Serbia, Iraq
Iraq Purchasing Serbian Sniper Rifles, Assault Weapons for US$50million
SEESAC (Belgrade) / VIP News Service
19 November 2007
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense is planning to buy weapons worth 50 million dollars from Serbia. For this reason the Iraqi Minister of Defense Abdul Qadr Jasim is currently visiting Serbia to negotiate the terms of this major acquisition, the Press daily reported on Saturday. In Belgrade, Jasim met with the Serbian Minister of Defense Dragan Sutanovac and visited the Serbian arms industry. The Iraqis are planning to buy large... ( gunpolicy.org )
Switzerland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iraq
Swiss Gun Dealer Investigated for Trafficking Weapons from Bosnia to Iraq
SonntagsZeitung (Switzerland)
18 November 2007
ZURICH -- Swiss business man Marius Joray may have illegally moved thousands of small arms and huge quantities of ammunition from Bosnia to Iraq. The Swiss State Prosecutor has become involved. The Prosecutors spokesman Peter Lehmann says . "We have requested the Federal Police to enquiries." The research of the SonntagsZeitung shows that goods that were acquired through the Swiss business man were transferred with the help of Serbian... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Baghdad Armoury Resembled 'Arms Bazaar' As US Lost Track of Its Guns
New York Times
11 November 2007
WASHINGTON -- As the insurgency in Iraq escalated in the spring of 2004, American officials entrusted an Iraqi businessman with issuing weapons to Iraqi police cadets training to help quell the violence. By all accounts, the businessman, Kassim al-Saffar, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, did well at distributing the Pentagon-supplied weapons from the Baghdad Police Academy armory he managed for a military contractor. But, co-workers... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Iraq Complains at US Delay in Supplying 50,750 Additional M16 Assault Rifles
Boston Globe
3 November 2007
WASHINGTON -- More than a year after the government of Iraq paid more than $2 billion to the US government to purchase weapons and equipment for their military and police force, most of the equipment has yet to be delivered, slowing the ability of Iraqi units to take greater responsibility for their country's security, according to Iraqi officials. In October 2006, Iraq obtained congressional approval to purchase 50,750 M16 rifles... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States, Iran, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Hundreds of Thousands of Guns 'Leak' in Pentagon's Rush to Arm Iraqis
ISN Security Watch (Zurich), Web Page
2 November 2007
TEL AVIV -- Post-invasion Iraq has been blighted by a massive proliferation in small arms, conducted with the active involvement of both state and non-state actors, including major criminal entities. This proliferation profoundly undermines efforts to stabilize the security situation and future moves to reconstitute Iraq as a viable state. Unprotected stockpiles The 2003 invasion of Iraq was marked by the large-scale... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, Germany, United Kingdom
British Soldier Guilty of Smuggling Guns from Iraq to Sell in Germany
BBC News
26 October 2007
A British soldier has been found guilty of plotting to smuggle guns out of Iraq and sell them at his base in Germany. A court martial heard how L/Cpl Anthony Creswick was involved in selling illegal pistols bought on the black market in Basra. The panel heard how Creswick sold the guns with his colleague from the 3rd Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, L/Cpl Michael White. White has admitted his role in the operation... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, United Nations, Iraq
US Small Arms Policy: Having It Both Ways - World Policy Journal
World Policy Journal, Summer 2007;24:2:67-80 (USA)
19 October 2007
Does United States policy indeed represent the gold standard for export controls on small arms, as often asserted? Recent events suggest that it is time for a fresh look at this common claim. Ten years ago the United States and its European partners began to grapple with new realities about the proliferation of small arms. In the early 1990s, the forces that dissolved the Soviet Union also pried locks off the central warehouses... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, United Nations, Iraq
US Small Arms Policy: Having It Both Ways - Susan Waltz [Part 2 of 2]
World Policy Journal, Summer 2007;24:2:67-80 (USA)
19 October 2007
[Continued from Part 1 of 2] Prying Open the Door Covert actions provide an additional, separate legal channel for shadow transfers. The statutory underpinnings for such operations, including weapons transfers, are found in the National Security Act, incorporated into Title 50 of the U.S. Code under the heading of War and National Defense. (The Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act, by contrast, are included... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, United Nations, Iraq
US Small Arms Policy: Having It Both Ways - Susan Waltz [Part 1 of 2]
World Policy Journal, Summer 2007;24:2:67-80 (USA)
19 October 2007
"An essential element of the success of the U.S. program is its export control laws and regulations. These laws are internationally recognized as the most robust and effective in the world ... [At the 2006 UN Review Conference on Small Arms] the United States will make the case that its laws, practices and enforcement procedures are effective models other nations should follow." - Assistant Secretary of State John Hillen, Baltimore... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Baghdad Girls & Boys 'Armed to the Teeth' with Imitation Assault Rifles
Agence France Presse
19 October 2007
BAGHDAD -- Try as he might, Baghdad businessman Ibrahim Georges can't persuade his 11-year-old daughter Sandy to lay down her arms in favour of something less hostile, such as a doll. "She loves her gun," Georges said as Sandy, short-haired and dressed in long trousers and T-shirt, proudly displayed a menacing GC toy automatic rifle that, according to a bold stamp on the side, was made in China. "She never plays with dolls,"... ( gunpolicy.org )
Austria, Iraq, United States
Lawyer Denies Large Number of Austrian-US Glock Pistols Missing in Iraq
Wiener Zeitung (Vienna)
11 October 2007
VIENNA -- Austrian arms maker Glock has said reports by the French news agency that thousands of its pistols are circulating on the black market in Iraq are not accurate. A lawyer for the company says there has been only a minimal loss of the weapons distributed to Iraqi police and security personnel. The economics ministry has said no export licenses for Glock pistols to Iraq have been granted this year. Earlier... ( gunpolicy.org )
Austria, Iraq, United States
Thousands of US-Supplied, Austrian Glock Pistols Leak to Iraqi Black Market
Wiener Zeitung (Vienna)
9 October 2007
VIENNA/BAGHDAD -- It's been reported that thousands of Austrian made pistols may be circulating on the black market in Iraq. US officials have, in recent months, been investigating the disappearance of tens of thousands of weapons which were meant to go to Iraqi security forces. The AFP news agency says over half of all weapons that were supposed to go to the Iraqi police and army have gone astray. That amounts to around 190,000... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US Quietly Shifts Iraqis from AK-47s, Sells 123,544 New M-16 Assault Rifles
Wall Street Journal
8 October 2007
CAMP TAJI, Iraq -- In this war-ravaged country, a man is often measured by the make of his gun. When Iraqi soldier Abbas Ali Eadan picked up his brand new, U.S.-made M-16 rifle in August at this sprawling base north of Baghdad, his pride was palpable. "I can put a cigarette in an ashtray and hit it with my M-16 from far away, like a sniper," boasted the 39-year-old. "The terrorists may have rockets and grenades, but only... ( gunpolicy.org )
Serbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, United Nations
Serbian Gun Runner Shipped Tons of Guns, Ammunition to Various Conflicts
New York Times
7 October 2007
NIS, Serbia -- For the past four years Tomislav Damnjanovic has played a crucial role in the United States' wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2003, he has delivered millions of rounds of ammunition, guns, grenades and mortars to the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan, United Nations officials say, facts he does not dispute. His aircraft have even been used to shuttle supplies between American bases in Iraq, saving troops from having to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq, Turkey
US Military Has Been Searching for Months, Can't Find Missing Guns in Iraq
Agence France Presse
6 October 2007
BAGHDAD -- They've been searching for months, but the US military has still not got to the bottom of what happened to tens of thousands of small arms handed to Iraqi forces, fearing many are now in the hands of insurgents. As an example, the Americans delivered 125,163 Austrian-made Glock semi-automatic pistols to Iraqi police between 2003 and late 2006, Pentagon figures shows. But in October 2006, senior US official Stuart... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq, Serbia, United Nations
Serbian Gun Runner Shipped Planeloads of Guns, Ammo 'In Name of USA'
Blic Daily (Belgrade)
4 October 2007
Weapons deliveries have been chief part of his business dealing for 15 years already. The latest destination that his plane flew to four months ago with 40-ton load of weapons, was Iraq. He says that his 'Air Tomisko' transports everything from bananas to weapons. His name is Tomislav Damjanovic. In the report by UN Agency for weapons control his name is mentioned as a chief individual for transport of weapons from the Balkans to Africa... ( gunpolicy.org )
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iraq, United States
Bosnian Gun Trader Damjanovic Shipped AK-47s to Iraq for the Pentagon
ONASA BiH Press Review / Dnevni avaz (Bosnia)
2 October 2007
SARAJEVO -- Investigator of Amnesty International (AI) Hugh Griffits [Griffiths] claims that weapons from BiH to Iraq have been mainly transported through Tomislav Damjanovic, a close associate of the former president of Serbia and Yugoslavia and accused for war crimes, Slobodan Milosevic, Sarajevo daily Dnevni avaz writes. He stated, in an interview for the daily on the occasion to publishing a brochure on preventing ammunition... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US Delivered Bulk Weapons to Iraq, But Lost Track of At Least 190,000 Guns
Philadelphia Inquirer / AP
30 September 2007
WASHINGTON -- As President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry clashed in late 2004 over the direction of the Iraq war, a rising Army star joined the debate. David H. Petraeus, then a lieutenant general and head of a new command overseeing the training and equipping of Iraq's security forces, said headway was being made. Tens of thousands of rifles, pistols, sets of body armor, vehicles and radios, along with millions... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Pentagon Wants to Sell More Guns: 123,544 M-16 Assault Rifles to Iraq
Reuters
26 September 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon on Wednesday told Congress it was ready to sell Iraq up to $2.3 billion worth of weapons to help the Iraqi Army expand and take over missions now carried out by U.S. and allied forces. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign military sales, said the sale would include vehicles, small arms ammunition, explosives and communications equipment, as well as upgrades to 32 additional UH-1... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Pentagon Plans to Sell 135,579 Guns, 169 Million Rounds of Ammo to Iraq
US Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), Media release
25 September 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq of various vehicles, small arms ammunition, explosives, and communications equipment as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $2.257 billion. The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of the following: MDE includes: (980)... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
M-16 Standard US Military Rifle 50 Years Old, Still Plagued With Problems
PBS TV NewsHour (USA), Transcript
24 September 2007
The M-16 semiautomatic rifle. With its shorter version, the M-4, it's the gun of our troops in combat. The hat's for the sun, by the way; the earmuffs for the noise. Jim Sullivan helped design this rifle during the Eisenhower administration. JIM SULLIVAN, M-16 Co-Designer: Fifty years ago. PAUL SOLMAN: Fifty years ago? JIM SULLIVAN: Well, we started on it 50 years ago this month. PAUL SOLMAN: That's 1957,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US Feds Investigate Blackwater for Gun Running: Illegal Weapons to Iraq
New York Times / Reuters
22 September 2007
WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors are looking into whether private U.S. security contractor Blackwater USA has shipped unlicensed automatic weapons and military goods into Iraq, a newspaper reported on Saturday. Two former Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty in Greenville, North Carolina, to weapons charges and are cooperating with the investigation, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported. Federal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Blackwater Denies US-Iraq Gun Smuggling, Reported Gun Thieves to Feds
BBC News
22 September 2007
A US company that provides security for US diplomats in Iraq has denied as "baseless" allegations that it was involved in weapons smuggling. Blackwater's statement follows reports of a US investigation into allegations that some employees sent unlicensed weapons and equipment to Iraq. The weapons could have been used by a group labelled as terrorist by the US. Blackwater has been blamed by Iraqi officials for a... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq, Turkey
Blackwater, Staff Investigated for Smuggling Illegal Guns from US to Iraq
Associated Press
21 September 2007
WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh, N.C., is handling the investigation with help from Pentagon and State Department auditors, who have concluded... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US to Send Another $3-4 Billion Worth of Guns to Iraq: Who'll Get Them?
Salon (USA)
18 September 2007
WASHINGTON -- The grand debate about Gen. David Petraeus' Capitol Hill testimony last week on U.S. strategy in Iraq focused primarily on troop levels, withdrawal dates and whether Bush's so-called troop surge was succeeding. But widely overlooked was Petraeus' sales pitch to lawmakers for one initiative he said will help save the war-torn country: massive arms sales from the U.S. government to Iraq. "Iraq is becoming one of the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iraq
Bosnia Opens In-Depth Probe Into Missing Weapons, Gun Exports to Iraq
BBC Worldwide Monitoring / Dnevni Avaz (Sarajevo), Transcript
30 August 2007
Dnevni Avaz has learned that Bosnia-Hercegovina police and intelligence agencies have launched an in-depth investigation into the export of Bosnian arms and equipment to Iraq. Several sources have confirmed that the investigation has already led to identifying a certain number of locals and internationals in B-H responsible for oversights in the process of delivering tens of thousands of rifles and hundreds of thousands of bullets... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq, Turkey
American Guns, Once Donated to Iraqis, Turn Up as Crime Guns in Turkey
New York Times
30 August 2007
WASHINGTON -- Weapons that were originally given to Iraqi security forces by the American military have been recovered over the past year by the authorities in Turkey after being used in violent crimes in that country, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. The discovery that serial numbers on pistols and other weapons recovered in Turkey matched those distributed to Iraqi police units has prompted growing concern by Defense Secretary... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait
Pentagon Launches Search for Missing Guns, Middle East Contract Fraud
Reuters
29 August 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon's independent watchdog has launched a probe into the military's inability to account for weapons in Iraq after reports that Kurdish militants were using U.S. arms to attack Turkey, the Defense Department said on Wednesday. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the department's inspector general will go to Iraq next week with an 18-member assessment team to investigate the problem. "Since January,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iraq
Bosnia Launches 'Massive Investigation' to Trace Guns Lost On Way to Iraq
Independent News Agency (Skopje)
29 August 2007
SARAJEVO -- Police and intelligence agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina have launched a massive investigation into export of Bosnian arms to Iraq, local media said on Wednesday. The same sources said the initial inquiry reveals names of Bosnian citizens and foreign nationals suspected of doing mistakes in the course of export of thousands of rifles and hundreds of thousands rounds of ammunition to Iraq in the period 2004-2005. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
US Police Run Short of Ammo as American Wars Consume Billions of Bullets
Washington Post
28 August 2007
The U.S. military's soaring demand for small-arms ammunition, fueled by two wars abroad, has left domestic police agencies less able to quickly replenish their supplies, leading some to conserve rounds by cutting back on weapons training, police officials said. To varying degrees, officials in Montgomery, Loudoun and Anne Arundel counties said, they have begun rationing or making other adjustments to accommodate delivery schedules... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait
US Auditors Sent to Iraq and Afghanistan to Trace Missing Guns, Corruption
USA Today / AP
28 August 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is sending a team of investigators to Iraq because of the growing number of cases of fraud and other irregularities in contracts involving weapons and supplies for Iraqi forces. "The (Defense) Department is concerned with the number of contracting improprieties" that have been uncovered, department spokesman Bryan Whitman said Tuesday. Some members of a team led by Pentagon Inspector General Claude... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq, United Nations
US Enlisted Notorious Arms Dealer Viktor Bout to Fly 'Missing' Guns to Iraq
Los Angeles Times, Opinion
13 August 2007
The United States seems to be missing some guns in Iraq. Somehow, the U.S. military has lost track of 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 80,000 pistols that were supposedly delivered from our caches to Iraqi security forces. It was classic bureaucratic bungling, the Government Accountability Office concluded last month in a report criticizing the Pentagon's failure to keep proper records and track weapons flows. But there may have... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States
Tide of Legal, Illegal Guns Floods Iraq as US, Smugglers Pour in Weapons
International Herald Tribune / AP
12 August 2007
BAGHDAD -- Since the U.S. invasion in 2003, when looters ransacked armories and deserting Iraqi soldiers took their rifles home, this bloodied land has been flooded by a sea of weapons fed from both the legal and illegal market. Besides more than 700,000 rifles and other weapons arming the new Iraqi army and police, at least 7 million guns are believed in the hands of civilians, including insurgents and sectarian militias, in a... ( gunpolicy.org )
Italy, Iraq
Italian Luggage Search Unearths Huge Iraq, Libya Gun Trafficking Deals
Associated Press
12 August 2007
PERUGIA, Italy -- In a hidden corner of Rome's busy Fiumicino Airport, police dug quietly through a traveler's checked baggage, looking for smuggled drugs. What they found instead was a catalog of weapons, a clue to something bigger. Their discovery led anti-Mafia investigators down a months-long trail of telephone and e-mail intercepts, into the midst of a huge black-market transaction, as Iraqi and Italian partners haggled over... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Now, What Did I Do With Those 190,000 AK-47s and Pistols in Iraq?
Chicago Sun-Times, Editorial
8 August 2007
Flabbergasted. That's how we feel about the United States' misplacement of billions of dollars in weapons meant to train Iraqi military and police. We aren't talking lost keys, here, but assault rifles and pistols -- at least 190,000. The U.S. Government Accountability Office discovered that the weapons -- mostly AK-47s and Glock pistols -- were missing during a routine audit, released a few days ago. The weapons were mislaid between... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Iraq
Pentagon Lost Almost 200,000 AK-47 Assault Rifles, Handguns in Iraq
CNN
6 August 2007
WASHINGTON -- Nearly 200,000 U.S.-supplied rifles and pistols meant for Iraqi security forces are unaccounted for in Iraq, according to a report to Congress. Loose record-keeping caused the Pentagon and the U.S. command in Iraq to lose track of about 110,000 AK-47 rifles and 80,000 pistols provided to the new Iraqi national police and army, the Government Accountability Office told Congress. The investigative arm of Congress,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, United States
190,000 Assault Rifles, Handguns Given to Iraq Are Missing - US Govt Audit
Washington Post
6 August 2007
The Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, according to a new government report, raising fears that some of those weapons have fallen into the hands of insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. The author of the report from the Government Accountability Office says U.S. military officials do not know what happened to 30 percent of the weapons the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq, West Asia, United States, United Nations
Celebratory Gunfire Kills Bystanders, Children Around the World
Star Phoenix (Saskatoon), Column
31 July 2007
Why is it that anytime there is a celebration in the Middle East, the first thing people do is reach for a gun and start firing in the air? Watching the recent victory celebrations following Iraq's big soccer triumph, I found it hard to focus on what winning the Asian Cup means for the future of the country. All I could think of is where those bullets might be landing. Reports out of Baghdad suggest at least four people... ( gunpolicy.org )
|
|
