US, France to Supply Iraq With New Advanced Weapons

ISIS war convinced defense ministry they need more artillery

Iraqi state media is reporting that the Defense Ministry signed a series of contracts with the United States and France to import a number of new advanced weapons. Exact terms of the deals have yet to be made public.

One type of weapon known to be sought is more advanced, long-range artillery. Iraq had some long-range artillery for fighting ISIS, and decided it worked so well that they needed more.

Iraq has been known to be keen to rearm after the ISIS fighting, and has very specific ideas, after that experience, of what they need. Iraq’s financial state after the war isn’t entirely recovered, however.

That might complicate matters. While artillery isn’t super expensive, the Iraqi emphasis on “advanced” arms makes it sound like this might be a pricey new purchase. How easily they’ll be able to afford that remains to be seen.

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.