GAO: Iraq weapons accounting overwhelmed

WASHINGTON, July 31 (UPI) -- An overwhelmed inventory-control system has left thousands of weapons earmarked for Iraqi security forces unaccounted for, a report warned Tuesday.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report Tuesday that concluded a lack of standard procedures had resulted in a lack of assurance that Iraqi forces were indeed getting all of the equipment intended for them.

The situation has resulted in about 110,000 AK-47 rifles unaccounted for as well as thousands of handguns, helmets and bulletproof vests. While the GAO did not determine if the discrepancy meant the weapons were actually missing, it said changes were definitely desired.

"Given the Department of Defense's request for an additional $2 billion to develop Iraqi security forces, improving accountability procedures can help ensure that the equipment purchased with these funds reaches the intended recipients," the GAO said. "In addition, adequate accountability procedures can help ... identify Iraqi forces' legitimate equipment needs, thereby supporting the effective development of these forces."

The report said part of the problem was the use of a spreadsheet reporting system that was quickly overwhelmed by the volume of equipment involved, too few trained logistics personnel and the inevitable data-entry errors.

The Defense Department concurred that more standardization of logistics accounting was needed and said officials were working on beefing up oversight and security.