IRAQ IS BUYING ARMS FROM CHINA: We’re supposed to be worried about why. I think I have an answer though, and it’s the same reason I personally have bought arms from China: They’re good, and they’re cheap. Some years ago I bought a Chinese SKS rifle (a lightweight Kalashnikov variant) for 99 bucks. I expected it to be reliable and inexpensive, and it was. It also shot really well, and had a surprisingly smooth trigger pull. I liked it so much I went back and bought another to give my brother for Christmas. If someone had offered to sell me an AR-15 for the same 99 bucks I might have gone with it, but they didn’t, and for the price the SKS was an excellent buy.

UPDATE: SayUncle emails on the SKS: “They’re great. You can’t get them for $99 anymore though since the import ban. They sell for about $250. I remember when you could by them for $59 or get a three pack for $150. No kidding. I should have kept them.” Yeah. Mine’s quite accurate out to 200 yards, the greatest distance I’ve shot it at. Much better than I had expected.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Various readers inform me that the SKS is not a Kalashnikov variant, but a different design, by Simonov. And some wonder why the Iraqis need these guns. Hey, who knows? Maybe they don’t. Maybe Iranian dissidents need guns that aren’t obviously from the United States.