GunsU.S. has given 1.4 million guns to Iraq, Afghanistan -- but doesn’t know where, by whom these weapons are currently being used

Published 25 August 2016

The United States has given more than 1.4 million guns to Iraqi and Afghan forces, as part of the more than $40 billion worth of U.S. Department of Defense arms and munitions contracts since 9/11. The Pentagon has only partial, and not necessarily accurate, information not only about the total number of firearms involved, but how, where, and by whom these weapons are currently being used. Journalists have offered evidenced that many firearms openly available for purchase on black markets and on social media throughout the Middle East were originally provided by the Pentagon to U.S. associates in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The United States has given more than 1.4 million guns to Iraqi and Afghan forces, as part of the more than $40 billion worth of U.S. Department of Defense arms and munitions contracts since 9/11.

The New York Times reports that researchers from the London-based charity Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), analyzing the contracts made public by the Department of Defense between 11 September 2001 and 10 September 2015, have concluded that at least 1,452,910 firearms had been provided by the U.S. military to U.S. partners in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The researchers also say that the Pentagon has only partial, and not necessarily accurate, information not only about the total number of firearms involved, but how, where, and by whom these weapons are currently being used.

The findings of the AOAV report are in line with anecdotal evidence that the U.S. government handed firearms to local fighters and militia as part of its war on terror, with little or no intention – and probably no capability — of monitoring their use, whereabouts, and eventual destination.

The Times notes that the Pentagon has been criticized for not applying the same monitoring standards to firearm contracts that it applies to contracts for other types of weapons.

A Pentagon spokesperson admitted to the Times that there had been “lapses in accountability of some of the weapons transferred.” But he maintained that once a weapon was handed to a foreign fighting force, “It is their responsibility to account for that weapon.”

Journalists have offered evidenced that many firearms openly available for purchase on black markets and on social media throughout the Middle East were originally provided by the Pentagon to U.S. associates in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iain Overton, a former BBC journalist who led the AOAV’s research, said: “Our findings raise concerns about the DoD’s transparency and accountability when it comes to issuing contracts.

“It highlights the fact that significant numbers of small arms are sent to foreign governments but are never publicly recorded by the DoD publicly.

“We know by looking at other U.S. government records, that at least 1,452,910 small arms have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan in the last fourteen years.

“We hope our findings and database summaries will inform the U.S. debate on seemingly unchecked and military expenditure and highlight concerns about the US government’s oversupply of arms to unstable states.”

— Read more in Iain Overton et al., U.S. Department of Defense spend on guns in ‘War on Terror’ revealed (AOAV, 24 August 2016)