Report: Obama Wants to Sell Iraq 4,000 More Hellfire Missiles

Shipments of Already Ordered Missiles Expected Soon

Iraq has already burned through hundreds of US-made Hellfire Missiles in fighting the ISIS invasion, and another 100 already ordered are expected to be delivered in mid-July. This is just the tip of the iceberg, however.

According to officials familiar with the situation, President Obama intends to push through a plan to sell another 4,000 Hellfire Missiles to Iraq soon, a major contract for Lockheed Martin.

Iraq doesn’t have a lot of options for firing Hellfire Missiles yet, with no US warplanes delivered, and Iraq is said to be using Cessna 208 Caravan prop planes to fire the missiles.

Some in Congress had previously objected to selling the Maliki government masses of Hellfire Missiles, noting Maliki’s inclination to use them against internal opposition. The objection seems to have dried up in recent days, with many hoping to escalate US involvement in the war.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.