I mean really, are we surprised at all?

In the age of computerized high-tech warfare, it is not just American hardware available on the black market. Now there is also vital technology and information up for grabs and — as military officials here and in the U.S. fear — leaking into the wrong hands in this region where the Taliban and elements of Al Qaeda have a known presence.

I was recently able to purchase a U.S. military laptop for $650 from a small kiosk, which is known as the “Sitara Market,” on the western edge of the sprawling open-air markets on the edge of Peshawar.

The laptop, which has clear U.S. military markings and serial numbers, contained restricted U.S. military information, as well as software for military platforms, the identities of numerous military personnel and information about weaknesses and flaws in American military vehicles being employed in the war in Afghanistan.

[...]

NATO supply convoys have been repeatedly attacked in the last six months and looted periodically inside Pakistan en route to military bases in Afghanistan. These attacks are a major source for the military equipment that ends up in Sitara market, according to Pakistani and U.S. officials.

But there are other avenues as well. The shopkeeper selling the laptop, who did not reveal his name, said the laptop offered to GlobalPost was brought in by one of his “suppliers” who specialize in smuggling across the Afghan border.

“I’ve had two or three like this come in the past few months,” he said about the laptop glistening on a glass counter under the sun.

It was displayed in the shop amid racks of combat fatigues and Kevlar vests and tool kits. A few shops down, U.S. military issue stabilized binoculars are on sale for about $100 and a night vision mount for an automatic weapon went for approximately $300. Gore-Tex boots and Oakley sunglasses line the displays of several nearby shops.

[source: Military.com]

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.