Product Code Database
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed U.S
Military items exported to Iraq since 1980, focusing on: (1) the U.S. policy regarding U.S. military and related equipment sales to Iraq; (2) whether U.S. arms were diverted from the Middle East and three other countries to Iraq; and (3) whether a shipment of U.S.-origin mortar bomb fuses was diverted from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Iraq. GAO found that: (1) U.S. foreign trade policy prohibited commercial sales of defense items to Iraq except when the items were for the protection of the head of state; (2) the Department of Defense (DOD) has not made any foreign military sales to Iraq since 1967; (3) between 1985 and 1990, the Department of Commerce approved export licenses for dual-use items totalling $1.5 billion; (4) U.S. foreign trade policy did not limit sales of dual-use items through national security or foreign policy controls; (5) two countries transferred various U.S. military items to Iraq without U.S. approval; (6) three other Middle East countries proposed to serve as transshipment points for Iraq-bound military equipment, but the proposals were rejected by the Department of State; (7) it was unable to determine whether U.S.-origin mortar bomb fuses shipped to UAE were diverted to Iraq because of sovereign political sensitivities and its inability to conduct an on-site physical inspection; and (8) although the U.S. Embassy in UAE reported that the U.S.-origin mortar bomb fuses shipped to UAE were not diverted to Iraq, it needs to find an alternative method of verifying that the fuses remain in UAE possession.
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