U.S. can't account for its weapons in Gaza
Geostrategy-Direct, www.geostrategy-direct.com, August 9, 2005

The United States has major plans to bolster the Palestinian Authority
on the eve of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern
West Bank. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been prepared to
improve the Palestinian economy and security forces.

One thing is clear: the Bush administration plans to pump the money
into enhancing PA security without taking a real inventory of its
weaponry and links to guns, missiles and bombs used by such groups as
Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The plan also does not include any
guarantee that Hamas would not benefit from or obtain the U.S. funding.

At a hearing last week, U.S. envoy Gen. William Ward was taken aback by
a simple question from Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.): Does the United States
know what happened to the thousands of M-16 rifles given to the PA in
the 1990s? Those rifles have been used in attacks against Israel and
even sold or transferred to Fatah and Hamas.

Kirk said Congress relented under pressure from the Clinton
administration and approved the transfer of U.S. assault rifles
directly to the PA. Not long after, those rifles were used against
Israel.

"Now, imagine how we felt a year later when we saw Palestinian
policemen using those M-16s to shoot Israelis," Kirk said at a hearing
of the House Foreign Operations subcommittee.

"General Ward, do we know where all these M-16s are? Have we done an
audit of all the guns we've already given the Palestinian Authority?"

Ward said he didn't know where the guns were and implied an audit would
be completed.

At the same hearing, Assistant Secretary of State David Welch said he
could not rule out the prospect that U.S. aid would be funneled to
Hamas, particularly through Palestinian municipalities controlled by
the Islamic movement.

Welch could not reply to a question by Rep. Joseph Knollenberg
(R-Mich.) over whether U.S. diplomats or officials would cooperate with
elected Hamas members.

"We're trying to work with those realities in such a manner that we
don't skip over law or policy," Welch said.