What the F***?!?!?!?!

So, apparently the U.S. government is covering up the sale of illegal arms by China to Afghanistan. Sort of. But not really. The arms were purchased for Afghan security forces - the "side" that is backed by the U.S. government. What's the deal here? The United States "brought democracy" to Afghanistan, brought down the Taliban, and instituted a new government, but could not supply arms to the defense forces? Did the U.S. create an Afghan army that they could not supply? Well... apparently a Miami-based company was awarded a $298 million contract to supply arms to the new Afghan security forces. They supplied them alright - by purchasing them illegally from China - likely at a discounted rate, as you may be able to deem from the quotes below. In the end, the story turns into yet another example of how U.S. firms are bilking the U.S. government (of tax-payer monies) through the privatization of the "War on Terror."

What is there really left to say here????

Here are some excerpts from the NYtimes article by Dan Bilefsky:

An American ambassador helped cover up the illegal Chinese origins of ammunition that a Pentagon contractor bought to supply Afghan security forces, according to testimony gathered by Congressional investigators. A military attaché has told the investigators that the United States ambassador to Albania endorsed a plan by the Albanian defense minister to hide several boxes of Chinese ammunition from a visiting reporter. The ammunition was being repackaged to disguise its origins and shipped from Albania to Afghanistan by a Miami Beach arms-dealing company.

On March 27, The New York Times published an article that said Albanian documents showed that the Miami company [AEY Inc.] had bought more than 100 million Chinese cartridges that were stored for decades in former cold war stockpiles. Mr. Diveroli arranged to have them repacked in cardboard boxes, many of which split or decomposed after shipment to the war zones, according to the article. Different lots or types of ammunition were mixed. In some cases the ammunition was dirty, corroded or covered with a film.

In January 2007, the Army awarded the company a contract, potentially worth $298 million, that made it the main munitions supplier for Afghan security forces in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.