Pentagon Said to Keep Poor Missile Records
The Pentagon does a poor job tracking shoulder-fired missiles that the United States sells around the world, making it more difficult to keep the weapons from terrorists, according to a congressional report released Thursday. There are as many as 750,000 of the light but lethal weapons made by 30 countries, with about 1 percent of the total outside government controls, the General Accounting Office said. “The proliferation of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) has been of growing concern to the United States and other governments,” said the investigative arm of Congress. Terrorists are attracted to the weapons as a way to bring down commercial airliners because the weapons are deadly, portable, easy to use, easy to hide and cost from less than $1,000 each to $100,000, the report said. Full Story