Millions of dollars of U.S. gear meant to combat the threat of roadside bombs is being wasted in Pakistan which refuses to let the equipment leave its customs warehouses.
The U.S. procured 110 IED jammers for the Pakistani military at a cost of nearly $23 million in 2009 in an effort to ease the threat of the improvised explosive devices that have been the main cause of U.S. casualties in neighboring Afghanistan and taken a toll on Pakistan authorities as well.
So far, not one of the jammers has been put to use, according to a report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office.
The GAO report found that “55 jammers were still in Karachi awaiting release from Pakistani customs, and the remaining 55 jammers were being kept in storage in the United States until the initial 55 were released.”
Leaving the unused jammers in a Pakistani warehouse also raises the cost of the shipment since the U.S. must pay the storage fees, a GAO spokesman told ABCNews.com. . .