In a sign that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government seeks to build a new national security state over the ruins of the previous one, Pentagon last Friday announced military sales to Iraq worth some $9 billion. AFP has the details:
The biggest proposed sale was for 392 Light Armored Vehicles, radios and anti-tank weapons at an estimated cost of three billion dollars, the Defense Security and Cooperation Agency said.
Congress also was notified of a possible sale of 140 upgraded M1A1 Abrams tanks as well as armored Humvees, tracked logistics vehicles, armored ambulances, vehicles to carry shelters and command posts, and trucks to transport heavy equipment.
It was valued at 2.16 billion dollars.
A separate 2.4 billion dollar helicopter deal would provide the Iraqi government with 24 Bell Armed 407 helicopters or 24 Boeing AH-6 helicopters, along with engines, missiles, mortars, machineguns, and rocket launchers.
Good news is, they’re actually paying for this stuff.
The bad?
Call me a party pooper, but I think the chances of all this hardware not being used against ordinary Iraqis at some point are pretty slim.
You used a double negative in the last sentence. Appropriate for the situation, I guess.
I think the real worry about the order of battle changes is the possibility of these weapons systems falling into Iranian hands at some point. Even if it’s just a middle-of-the-night visit by a Quds Force advisor for some photography and data dumps, it still represents a major comprise of battlefield intel.
I guess you can’t tell whether a man’s trustworthy until you place some trust in him, but the clear linkages between Iran and the Maliki government should give people a little more pause when considering what the Iraqis should be able to buy from us.
And let’s not forget what the Iranian military is using for itself these days — old M113s, Bell helos and F-15s left behind when the Shah fell…..
Yeah, you should definitely not allow us foreigners to mangle your language…
But seriously, you have a good point. Who knows where those weapons systems will end up.