Iraq’s Air Force looks like it’s going to have to make do with Soviet hand-me-downs for the foreseeable future, as the Pentagon says that the escalating violence in the country is likely to further delay the shipments of F-16s.
Iraq ordered F-16s from the US in 2011, and has not gotten any yet. The Pentagon says that contractors at the key Balad air base had to be evacuated because of the ISIS incursions, and that’s slowing the whole process down.
The Maliki government seems to be figuring on this not happening any time soon, and has been scrambling to acquire planes from Russia. On Friday, they ordered Su-25s from Russia, and they were delivered on Sunday. Other, older Soviet-made planes are being sought from Iran, who impounded a large number of Iraqi planes back during the first Gulf War.
Maliki had blamed the lack of warplanes for his country’s recent losses to ISIS, saying if they had an actual Air Force, and not just a couple of Cessna trainers firing US Hellfire Missiles, they might’ve actually slowed the advance of the rebels.
The US never actually wanted Iraq to have its own air force. Dependence on the US for control and use of the air was supposed to be one of our levers over them.
I suspect that even with the F-16s the Iraqis would have still lost the territory to ISIS – and most likely and larger number of Sunni civilians in the process. Regardless, this excuse the US is blathering on about is pure BS. They could deliver the planes to southern Iraq – or even to Iran – train the Iraqis there (or anywhere for that matter) and then when the check clears, wash the USs hands of them.
The pentagon intention was to never send these f-16, they simply knew what was going to happen, don't they have Saudis, Qatari, Kuwaiti and Turkish officers in pentagon doing their stuff!
What a joke. Just pay, and you will never see the planes. Really, there was never the intention. Iraq did not sign on the dotted line to get SOFA. But it was lead by the nose, just order and — wait. Iraq was never to be allowed to be stable. Never. The insecurity will bring the occupation back, so ISIS was a good investment. There is plenty of proof that we paid for ISIS wapons — as the case of Croatian weapons proves. So, getting ISIS to demolish all the small fractions in Syria, and then swoop into Iraq that was not defended. From the time US left, Kurds were practically independent, while the utterly disfunctional "democracy" was forced upon them — a system that guaranteed sectional divide. Maliki had very little choice — mutli-kulti happiness was never in the cards, and he knew it. Saddam's army was disbanded, and there was no way that after civil war, miraculously Iraq was to come up with functioning army to defend themselves. All the billions that were spent on supposedly equiping army — certainly did not go where they were supposed to. For a country to be left without planes — is ridiculous. So, now — if the US staff will not fight, and US will not use drones — then how exactly are they to fight ISIS? Does US want Iraq to negotiate with them? What is the point negotiating with Sunnis from those regions if they do not have any power, and have to swear allegance to ISIS? Now, there will be Iranian and Russian military in Iraq, and US as well. What a mess. Chance for Syria to really take it to them. Iraq may end up being partitioned, but not the way ISIS wants.