This information provided by The Federal Observer, http://www.federalobserver.com
By Dean Stier
Let‘s go over this one more time. From The Boston Globe May 14, 2005, by Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Present and accounted for - Bush, Cheney list gifts $14k gun among assets disclosed [1]
When I first glanced at this article, I thought Bush was finally disclosing the financial value of his “war trophy gun” gift. The gun I am referring to is the handgun that Saddam Hussein had in his possession during his capture. It was widely publicized that this weapon was subsequently presented to Bush as a “gift” (actually a war trophy) by American troops involved in the capture of Saddam in mid 2004. As I read the headline about a $14K gun, something about the value of the gun, $14K, didn’t ring true. How could this possibly be the correct value of Saddam’s handgun? The way I had it figured, Saddam’s handgun was worth far, far more than $14K. Apparently, for financial disclosure purposes of gifts, you must place a value on an item based on what it cost to obtain that item or an estimated value. In the case of gifts to government employees, I doubt that depreciation enters into the picture.
Therefore, the cost or value if you wish, for obtaining Saddam’s handgun is more on the order of this: The estimated American costs of Bush’s Iraq adventure, at the time he received the handgun were in the range of $150B to $200B.This does not include the domestic costs incurred by the United States and infrastructure costs associated with rebuilding Iraq at that time. Since that time, Bush’s war costs have increased to possibly $260B, which may or may not include the newly approved supplemental Iraq spending bill. This is just the beginning! And, it is almost time for Bush and Congress to begin negotiating the next supplemental bill for Iraq. (I thought all that Iraqi oil was going to pay for the war and rebuilding Iraq. Isn’t that what Bush said?)
Unfortunately, in addition to the estimated financial cost of Bush’s Iraq adventure and as I stated in an earlier article, this handgun was acquired through terrible social, economic and human loss in both countries. No dollar value can be placed on this. This handgun, as insignificant as it may seem to some, carries much symbolism and was paid for with the blood and lives of over 1040 (now over 1643) American Soldiers, 135 (now over 170) international soldiers, thousands of wounded American and coalition soldiers, the deaths and maiming of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and before we are through with this war, possibly many more of each. It is a national disgrace for Bush to show this handgun off as his personal spoil of war.
Let’s get right to the point. This is one expensive weapon for Bush to show off to all of his war buddies and friends. And it’s not even a WMD! Since this handgun was given to Bush in 2004, why has Bush failed to publicly disclose this “Saddam gun gift” and it’s value as required by law? Since federal law requires elected officials to file a financial disclosure, which must also disclose gifts, I think it is time for President Bush to step up to the plate and tell us about his “gift” of Saddam’s handgun. Could it just be possible that they are unable to establish a “value” for this weapon? The cost undoubtedly far exceeds any amount authorized for gifts so they choose to ignore it in hopes it will go away. Maybe they are waiting until the end of the war to establish a final cost of obtaining this “gift”. Or, is he too ashamed to admit to America that his favorite little “war trophy” cost much more than he anticipated? Since Bush declared the major fighting in Iraq over in May of 2003, the costs to Americans in dollars and lives, has skyrocketed.
If Bush is not going to make a financial disclosure of this “gift”, it must be turned over to another custodian. Bush obtained this weapon under false pretences and has absolutely no right to hold this handgun in his personal gun collection. A horrible price was paid and continues to escalate so that Bush could hold this little trophy in his hot little hand and brag that he was victorious over Saddam.
To make matters worse, there is the distinct possibility that this weapon was removed from the Iraq war theater in violation of the Geneva Conventions which gives specific guidance for “War Souvenirs” and Department of Defense Directives which also set strict rules for obtaining and keeping War Souvenirs. This weapon, is very likely considered to be of “significant historical value” to the Iraqi Citizens and should be returned to their government. In addition to the two examples that I have cited, there is also a distinct possibility that this weapon (war souvenir) was brought into the US illegally. Additionally, several laws may have been broken including US Customs regulations regarding bringing undeclared firearms into the country. The type of weapon may also be a factor in the violation of these laws and rules. DC gun laws may also have been violated.
Strict enforcement of these rules is required and several of our military personnel who served in Iraq have been prosecuted, fined, jailed and/or dishonorably discharged for possessing unauthorized war souvenirs. The most recent was an Air Force officer who was dismissed from the military and sentenced to a year in prison for illegally shipping hundreds of war souvenirs from Iraq. [2]
If it is determined that any of the rules were violated in handling of this weapon, it is incumbent on the government agencies involved to pursue this matter, determine if laws were broken and take appropriate action. There must not be a double standard!
I mentioned this before and I say it again, Give it up George! This is not going away!
[1] Note: It turns out that the gun referred to in the article was a Weatherby shotgun that Bush received from Roy E. Weatherby Jr., head of a family-owned firearms firm based in Atascadero, Calif.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/05/14/present_and_accounted_for____bush_cheney_list_gifts
Dean Stier was born and raised in Michigan. Dean is a retired Staff Engineer from the California aerospace industry and presently resides in Southern California with his lovely wife, a native Californian. Dean and his wife have two grown children and two wonderful granddaughters, all residing in the southwest. Dean is an honorably discharged United States Air Force veteran who received his college education in California.
Dean welcomes your comments at: DeanStier@Hotmail.com