Ought Six
01-07-2004, 10:00 PM
Dems Question Plan to Buy Guns for Iraq Police (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,107673,00.html)
Fox News
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
WASHINGTON ? Two Democratic senators asked the U.S. occupation authority in Iraq 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.
The September solicitation to contractors sought prices for up to 50,000 "brand new, never fired, fixed stock" weapons made in 1987 or later.
"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.
The senators cited news reports that the captured weapons are in excellent condition, and said there would be little cost involved to distribute them to security forces.
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.
The senators asked Bremer how many confiscated rifles are currently in U.S. custody and whether they are suitable for use by Iraqi security personnel.
They also asked for the identity of contractors awarded orders so far, the cost of the purchases and the countries of the sellers.
This is not the first time weapons purchases by the governing authority were questioned.
In September, according to The New York Times, the Iraqi Governing Council (search) 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.
Dorgan, in a joint interview with Wyden, said, "The administrator (Bremer) needs to lay out if this is justifiable. There's no evidence they considered using confiscated weapons."
Wyden added, "If the answers are unsatisfactory, the two us will consider going to the Senate floor and offering an amendment" to cut reconstruction funds.
The two senators sponsored an amendment last fall that cut $1.86 billion from an Iraq spending bill, including a $200 million reduction for the purchase of petroleum products. The cuts were retained when President Bush signed the measure.
Fox News
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
WASHINGTON ? Two Democratic senators asked the U.S. occupation authority in Iraq 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.
The September solicitation to contractors sought prices for up to 50,000 "brand new, never fired, fixed stock" weapons made in 1987 or later.
"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.
The senators cited news reports that the captured weapons are in excellent condition, and said there would be little cost involved to distribute them to security forces.
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.
The senators asked Bremer how many confiscated rifles are currently in U.S. custody and whether they are suitable for use by Iraqi security personnel.
They also asked for the identity of contractors awarded orders so far, the cost of the purchases and the countries of the sellers.
This is not the first time weapons purchases by the governing authority were questioned.
In September, according to The New York Times, the Iraqi Governing Council (search) 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.
Dorgan, in a joint interview with Wyden, said, "The administrator (Bremer) needs to lay out if this is justifiable. There's no evidence they considered using confiscated weapons."
Wyden added, "If the answers are unsatisfactory, the two us will consider going to the Senate floor and offering an amendment" to cut reconstruction funds.
The two senators sponsored an amendment last fall that cut $1.86 billion from an Iraq spending bill, including a $200 million reduction for the purchase of petroleum products. The cuts were retained when President Bush signed the measure.