US can't account for some weapons for Iraqi army

WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) The U.S. military does not have a full accounting for hundreds of thousands of weapons purchased to arm some 325,500 Iraqi Security Forces by December 2006, a government report released today said.

Coalition forces were not fully accountable for the 278,000 weapons that had been purchased for the Iraqis as of August, and had apparently not complied with a requirement to register the serial numbers of all the weapons, the report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction concluded.

The report found that about dollar 133 million of Iraqi reconstruction funds had been used to buy some 370,000 small arms ranging from semiautomatic pistols to heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

But it said Iraqi security forces lacked spare parts -- and even technical manuals -- to maintain the weapons.

Moreover, Iraqi forces had failed to fill open arms maintenance positions, and the accuracy of inventories for three of the 12 types of weapons purchased were ''questionable,'' according to the report.

It also said it could not find evidence that coalition forces had complied with a U.S. requirement to register the serial numbers of all small arms, a key concern ''given the importance of controlling these sensitive items -- particularly given the security environment in Iraq.'' The review was conducted at the request of Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner. A key Republican from Virginia, Warner recently said that the United States might have to consider a change of course if the Iraqi government fails to restore order within two or three months.

Another report released by the inspector general's office raised questions about U.S. goals for transferring control of Iraqi Army logistics to the Iraq Defense Ministry by January 1, 2008.

The report said the U.S. military did not have enough personnel to train Iraqi Army logistics units and had not developed a plan to address the shortfall.

It also questions whether the Iraqi government would provide sufficient funds to support the army's logistical operations for the army or its police forces.

REUTERS SAM SND1240