WASHINGTON — U.S. defense contractors sell
surplus military equipment to virtually any buyer, a new government report said.
The Government Accountability Office has determined that sensitive
surplus military equipment sought by Al Qaida-aligned groups could be easily
purchased in the United States. The GAO report said the components included
launcher mounts for shoulder-fired missiles and guided missile radar test
sets.
"Many of the other military items have weapons applications that would
also be useful to terrorists," GAO said.
The congressional watchdog sent investigators to purchase U.S. military
surplus equipment from defense contractors. In June, two GAO investigators
purchased $1.1 million worth of body armor inserts used by troops in Iraq
and Afghanistan, an all-band antenna to track aircraft, and a digital
signal converter for naval surveillance.
"The body armor could be used by terrorists or other criminal activity,"
the report said.
This was the latest in a series of GAO investigations that reported the
Pentagon's failure to control the sale of military surplus. A House
subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on the issue on Tuesday.
"Based on GAO's most recent undercover investigation it looks like the
store is still open," House defense subcommittee chairman Rep. Christopher
Shays said. "We've seen partial changes that have resulted in over $34
million savings, but they still have a long way to go to make this system
functional."
The report said surplus equipment meant for destruction was sold to the
public. GAO said the components — including circuit cards used in U.S. Navy
systems, a cesium technology timing unit with global positioning
capabilities and 12 digital microcircuits used in F-14 fighter-jets — were
sold at tremendous discounts.
In all, at least 2,669 sensitive military items were sold to 79 buyers
in 216 transactions from November 2005 to June 2006. GAO concluded that the
Pentagon failed to enforce regulations to prevent the sale of such
equipment.
"DoD has not enforced security controls for preventing sensitive excess
military equipment from release to the public," the report said. "GAO was
able to purchase these items because controls broke down at virtually every
step in the excess property turn-in and disposal process."
