US military imports sand to Iraq: Report

A new report unveils that since 2003, the US military has been spending big bucks on importing sand to Iraq a country covered mostly with sand.

Iraq has sand ten times more than it has water or oil, yet Director of Resource Management for the US military Maj. Gen. Phillip E. McGhee claims that the country's sand is not the right type for building blast walls, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The US military says it had to import sand from other countries including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

A 15-ton blast wall, according to Gen. McGhee, costs about USD 3,500 to build.

However, he said, "to move it elsewhere in the region could cost us, transportation-wise, about USD 15,000 making it probably more cost-effective to leave it in place and buy another one elsewhere. The same goes for shipping containers" he added.

"Depending what port you move that same container out of, it could cost you USD 3,000 or it could cost you USD 15,000" McGhee said.

A report by the Pentagon last year criticized the US military spending in Afghanistan and said a great deal was being wasted.

The United States has spent over one-trillion dollars for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past nine years.

A report by US Congressional Commission of Wartime Contracting released last year revealed that the military has wasted huge sums of its budget on unnecessary spending and luxuries.

The report said that the US military spent over USD 30 million on building a single 'dining facility at
Camp Delta' in Baghdad, which would be completed by a time, when most US troops will have left the country.

SG/MMN
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/articles/39/US-military-imports-sand-to-Iraq-Report.html