Sponsored Content
« Paul Ryan's Speech on Health Care Reform | Main | Paul Ryan: We Owe The Country a Choice, Not an Echo »
September 27, 2011

20,000 Surface-to-Air Missiles Missing in Libya

From ABC News:

U.S. officials had once thought there was little chance that terrorists could get their hands on many of the portable surface-to-air missiles that can bring down a commercial jet liner.

But now that calculation is out the window, with officials at a recent secret White House meeting reporting that thousands of them have gone missing in Libya.

. . .

The nightmare has been made real with the discovery in Libya that an estimated 20,000 portable, heat-seeking missiles have gone missing from unguarded Army weapons warehouses.

The missiles, four to six-feet long and Russian-made, can weigh just 55 pounds with launcher. They lock on to the heat generated by the engines of aircraft, can be fired from a vehicle or from a combatant's shoulder, and are accurate and deadly at a range of more than two miles.

Interesting ABC would call this an exclusive report, since CNN had this story three weeks ago and with more detail:

They are Grinch SA-24 shoulder-launched missiles, also known as Igla-S missiles, the equivalent of U.S.-made Stinger missiles.

A CNN team and Human Rights Watch found dozens of empty crates marked with packing lists and inventory numbers that identified the items as Igla-S surface-to-air missiles.

. . .

Grinch SA-24s are designed to target front-line aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and drones. They can shoot down a plane flying as high as 11,000 feet and can travel 19,000 feet straight out.

Fighters aligned with the National Transitional Council and others swiped armaments from the storage facility, witnesses told Human Rights Watch.

. . .

Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch emergencies director, told CNN he has seen the same pattern in armories looted elsewhere in Libya, noting that "in every city we arrive, the first thing to disappear are the surface-to-air missiles."

He said such missiles can fetch many thousands of dollars on the black market.

"We are talking about some 20,000 surface-to-air missiles in all of Libya, and I've seen cars packed with them." he said. "They could turn all of North Africa into a no-fly zone."

So now raving lunatics have 20,000 surface-to-air missiles. Second look at boots on the ground, anyone? Second look at waterboarding, Obama? Thanks to commenter "Jane D'oh."

Follow me on Twitter.


video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

digg this
posted by rdbrewer at 02:23 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
The Unvaxxed and Unmasked Ranger - Declaring Independence From The Former United States: "Eventually Fucksi will croak and share turns with ..."

Thomas Bender: "@423 >>So where does that leave us? Probably ..."

Elric Blade: "I saw Midget God open for Leper Messiah at MSG in ..."

Whoopsi: "It wasn't like an "outbreak" outbreak. ..."

Donald J. Trump, indicted: "[i]"We now have information that he is still worki ..."

CN: "That's my favorite: Even if it leaked from a lab, ..."

Warai-otoko: "2 I thot this all along. He will be getting the Bi ..."

Paul: "I think most morons must now admit that the left i ..."

Get a Job: "[i]At this point, the question has to be: What do ..."

Christopher R Taylor [/i][/i][/s][/s][/b][/b][/u][/u]: "[i]So how do people JUSTIFY their anger and hatred ..."

I'll ruin the ending for you : "Nothing will happen. ..."

President Select Decaf: "Bragg will come for Trump on Thursday, after suppe ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64