On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 17:33:23 GMT,

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article314944.ece

The Christofascists have slaughtered over 100,000 innocent Iraqis.
And the Christian butchers have used on average 250,000 bullets
each for their victims.

Isn't Christianity wonderful?

/me sees 'God' point an indignant finger at the first Commandment
"Thou Shalt Not Kill."

US forced to import bullets from Israel as troops use 250,000 for
every rebel killed
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 25 September 2005

US forces have fired so many bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan - an
estimated 250,000 for every insurgent killed - that American
ammunition-makers cannot keep up with demand. As a result the US is
having to import supplies from Israel.

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 17:33:23 GMT,

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article314944.ece

The Christofascists have slaughtered over 100,000 innocent Iraqis.
And the Christian butchers have used on average 250,000 bullets
each for their victims.

Isn't Christianity wonderful?

/me sees 'God' point an indignant finger at the first Commandment
"Thou Shalt Not Kill."
US forced to import bullets from Israel as troops use 250,000 for
every rebel killed
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 25 September 2005
US forces have fired so many bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan - an
estimated 250,000 for every insurgent killed - that American
ammunition-makers cannot keep up with demand. As a result the US is
having to import supplies from Israel.
A government report says that US forces are now using 1.8 billion
rounds of small-arms ammunition a year. The total has more than
doubled in five years, largely as a result of the wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq, as well as changes in military doctrine.
"The Department of Defense's increased requirements for small- and
medium-calibre ammunitions have largely been driven by increased
weapons training requirements, dictated by the army's transformation
to a more self-sustaining and lethal force - which was accelerated
after the attacks of 11 September, 2001 - and by the deployment of
forces to conduct recent US military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq,"
said the report by the General Accounting Office (GAO).
Estimating how many bullets US forces have expended for every
insurgent killed is not a simple or precisely scientific matter. The
former head of US forces in Iraq, General Tommy Franks, famously
claimed that his forces "don't do body counts".
But senior officers have recently claimed "great successes" in Iraq,
based on counting the bodies of insurgents killed. Maj-Gen Rick Lynch,
the top US military spokesman in Iraq, said 1,534 insurgents had been
seized or killed in a recent operation in the west of Baghdad. Other
estimates from military officials suggest that at least 20,000
insurgents have been killed in President George Bush's "war on
terror".
John Pike, director of the Washington military research group
GlobalSecurity.org, said that, based on the GAO's figures, US forces
had expended around six billion bullets between 2002 and 2005. "How
many evil-doers have we sent to their maker using bullets rather than
bombs? I don't know," he said.
"If they don't do body counts, how can I? But using these figures it
works out at around 300,000 bullets per insurgent. Let's round that
down to 250,000 so that we are underestimating."
Pointing out that officials say many of these bullets have been used
for training purposes, he said: "What are you training for? To kill
insurgents."
Kathy Kelly, a spokeswoman for the peace group Voices in the
Wilderness, said Mr Bush believed security for the American people
could come only from the use of force. Truer security would be
achieved if the US developed fairer relations with other countries and
was not involved in the occupation of Iraq. The President, said Ms
Kelly, should learn from Israel's experience of "occupying the
Palestinians" rather than buying its ammunition.
The GAO report notes that the three government-owned,
contractor-operated plants that produce small- and medium-calibre
ammunition were built in 1941.
Though millions of dollars have been spent on upgrading the
facilities, they remain unable to meet current munitions needs in
their current state. "The government-owned plant producing
small-calibre ammunition cannot meet the increased requirements, even
with modernisation efforts," said the report.
"Also, commercial producers within the national technology and
industrial base have not had the capacity to meet these requirements.
As a result, the Department of Defense had to rely at least in part on
foreign commercial producers to meet its small-calibre ammunition
needs."
A report in Manufacturing & Technology News said that the Pentagon
eventually found two producers capable of meeting its requirements.
One of these was the US firm Olin-Winchester.
The other was Israel Military Industries, an Israeli ammunition
manufacturer linked to the Israeli government, which produces the bulk
of weapons and ordnance for the Israeli Defence Force.
The Pentagon reportedly bought 313 million rounds of 5.56mm, 7.62mm
and 50-calibre ammunition last year and paid $10m (about £5.5m) more
than it would have cost for it to produce the ammunition at its own
facilities.
© 2005 Independent News & Media (UK) Ltd.
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul
of the people. On some great and glorious day the
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's
desire at last and the White House will be adorned
by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Religion is the original war crime.
-Michelle Malkin (Feb 26, 2005)