Archives » Thursday, October 09, 2008
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Larry Kaplow
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Oct 9, 2008 12:49 PM
Several times a month, the U.S. military sends out press releases
announcing the discovery of hidden weapons caches. Those can be newly
smuggled mortars held by insurgents for use against American bases or,
usually, old rifles and ammo left behind by Saddam Hussein's armies.
They often are a combination of both–weapons looted from old army bases
and secreted away by people hoping to use or sell them.
The
finds are sometimes touted by commanders to show the progress they are
making against the insurgency. When large numbers of caches are
reported by Iraqi citizens or troops, it can be an indication of
increased cooperation but even that is thin evidence. Candid officers
note that the figures include everything from stockpiles of
rocket-propelled grenades to just a couple old rifles. Early this year,
military statistics showed that there had been 14,193 such finds from
the start of 2004 through 2007.
In a briefing today, Maj. Gen.
Michael Oates, who commands Multi-National Division – Center, which
runs from southern Baghdad to Basra, raised laughs from the media with
the wisdom he's learned about weapons caches from multiple tours in
Iraq. "In 2005, I thought, well we'll have all the caches cleaned up by
the end of this year, there can't possibly be that much. I said the
same thing in 2006 and 2007 and 2008," he said before pausing to
consider the incalculable volumes. "I've got to be honest with you. I
think you could stick a stick in the ground anywhere in Iraq and find a
bomb."
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