Gates:US Must Speed Up Weapons For Iraq

[SecularMotion]

Source: NY Times

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- The United States must deliver weapons to Iraq more quickly, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday, in the wake of an announcement that the Iraqis have ordered $100 million in military equipment from China.

He agreed that there are concerns that it is harder for the U.S. military in Iraq to track weapons purchased from countries other than America. In many cases, the Iraqis cannot account for weapons, which often end up in the hands of insurgents.

Speaking to reporters, Gates said the issue also came up at his meeting with Chilean Defense Minister Jose Mario Goni just prior to a news conference.

''This is an issue that we have to look into and see what we can do in the United States to be more responsive and be able to react more quickly to the requests of our friends,'' Gates said. ''Unfortunately the (foreign military sales) program was set up in a way that was not intended to provide sort of emergency or short term supplies, as in the case of Iraq and we're trying to figure out how to do that better.''

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Gates-Weapons.html

[AndyA]

1. Sorry, Gates. Just bring the troops home. We won't need more weapons.

They can leave what they have for the Iraqis. No need for more.

Bring 'em home, Gates. Enough of them have already been sacrificed for Bush's lie.

[saigon68]

6. Iraqi insiders are arming the Resistance Forces with Chinese weapons

Excellent choice These weapons though crude and not very accurate are perfect for a Hay foot Straw foot military

the drill sergeants repeatedly found that among the raw recruits
there were men so abysmally untaught that they did not know left from right,
and hence could not step off on the left foot as all soldiers should. To
teach these lads how to march, the sergeants would tie a wisp of hay to the
left foot and a wisp of straw to the right; then, setting the men to march,
they would chant, “Hay-foot, straw-foot, hay-foot, straw-foot”—and so on,
until everybody had caught on. A common name for a green recruit in those
days was “strawfoot

[rodeodance]

8. Oil for guns.

[DRoseDARs]

2. Well, maybe you should go out and find the 180,000 weapons you lost, eh?

Jackass.

[tekisui]

3. I hear Blackwater will deal some arms. Just get the weapons through them.

[superconnected]

4. Cause big contractors like United Defense, Bechtel and Haliburton

need the money before bush gets out of office.

I have an idea, hey, let's PULL THE TROOPS OUT.

Then we wouldn't need weapons for Iraq.

[liberal N proud]

5. More weapons faster so they can be lost faster

All so they can kill our troops faster
:nuke:

[Javaman]

7. First spread the green...

then spread the heat.

then start a war.

[rodeodance]

9. the GAO says total of 19.2 BILLION worth of equipment LOST

The U.S. Government Accountability Office said earlier this year that the Pentagon cannot fully account for $19.2 billion worth of equipment provided to Iraqi security force

[JBoy]

10. Why don't the get some of the Chinese weapons?

Can probably get them pretty fast through Walmart.