Is there a China connection with Iraq and Afghanistan? Yes, according to a departing senior Pentagon official, who says that the Chinese-origin armor-piercing bullets -- of particular concern to U.S. and coalition troops - have showed up in the two countries. This article, from the Financial Times, came out a few days ago, but I think was lost in the shuffle of Iraq news, so it's worth highlighting here:
Richard Lawless, the departing senior Pentagon official for Asia, on -Friday said that Washington had flagged the issue with -Beijing. US officials have become increasingly alarmed that Chinese armour-piercing ammunition has been used by the Taliban in Afghanistan and by insurgents in Iraq.
A senior US official recently told the Financial Times that Iran appeared to be providing the Chinese-made weapons. The official said Washington had no evidence that Beijing was complicit but stressed that the US would like China to "do a better job of policing these sales". Mr Lawless said the question of origin was less important than who was facilitating the transfer.
Apparently, the Chinese-origin armor-piercing bullets issue surfaced last month during the Dragon Skin armor debate, but this appears to be first time a senior Pentagon official has confirmed the report. [Pictured above are U.S. military standard armor-piercing bullets.]
