Quoted: This may be a stupid question, but why are we paying to re-arm a nation that just recently had ..oh say fortyleven gazillion AKs an enough ammo for them to last 2 life times? 'jus wondering, cus I really don't know whats behind the switch...besides the money.

We're not

According to the Pentagon, the Iraqis have thus far purchased about 21,000 of the rifles, worth roughly $27 million, from Colt Defense LLC. Current plans allow for the Iraqis to eventually buy 123,544 of the American-made firearms.

Quoted: This may be a stupid question, but why are we paying to re-arm a nation that just recently had ..oh say fortyleven gazillion AKs an enough ammo for them to last 2 life times? 'jus wondering, cus I really don't know whats behind the switch...besides the money.

We are not paying to re-arm them. They are paying us.

This is what they get for their $500,000,000

10,126 M17 9mm Glock Pistols
50,750 M16A2 Rifles
50,750 M4A1 Rifles
3,442 M24 Sniper Rifles
8,105 M249 Machine Guns
3,037 M240B Machine Guns
1,268 Generation (Gen) II Single Tube Night Vision Goggles
15 AN/PVS-17 Gen III Assault Weapon Sights
40 AN/PVS-10 Gen II Sniper Weapon Sights
20 Mi-17 Troop Transport Helicopters
600 Infantry Light Armored Vehicles Armored Personnel Carriers
2,126,250 9mm Pistol Ammunition
35,437,500 5.56mm Rifle Ammunition
633,328 7.62mm Sniper Rifle Ammunition
1,621,000 5.56mm Machine Gun Ammunition
1,214,800 M240 7.62mm Crew Served Machine Gun Ammunition
9,562 Hand Held Pyrotechnics and 8,670 Hand Held Smoke Munitions

Also included: logistics support services/equipment for helicopters (Jet Ranger, Huey II and Mi-17) and vehicles (Standard/Non-Standard Wheeled Vehicles, Tracked Vehicles, Infantry Light Armored Vehicles Armored Personnel Carriers) and small/medium weapons and weapon systems, on-job-training, laser pointers, supply and maintenance support, measuring and hand tools for ground systems, technical support, software upgrades, spare and repair parts, support equipment, publications and documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support.

Quoted: Still, I think I would have given them our A-1's that did not make it to Demil first..

We gave 64,744 of them to Israel for free back in 1995.

Quoted: Quoted: Sooo lemme get this straight they get brand new M16s but when I got deployed my Infantry Battalion wasn't issued M4s like we were promised, but M16s that already had at least 2 deployments on them, why the fuck do they get new rifles, and I'm using hand-me-downs. because they bought and paid for them.  That's why.

Well now I'm not quite as mad, I was under the impression that we were just giving stuff away... I guess I need to work on my reading comprehension.