lily
10-04-2007, 02:03 PM
Well.....it looks like Iraqi oil money is going to pay for the war afterall. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/03/AR2007100302464.html?wpisrc=newsletter)
Iraqis to Pay China $100 Million for Weapons for Police
Experts Fear More Will Go to Insurgents
By Robin Wright and Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 4, 2007; Page A12
Iraq has ordered $100 million worth of light military equipment from China
for its police force, contending that the United States was unable to
provide the materiel and is too slow to deliver arms shipments, Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani said yesterday.
The China deal, not previously made public, has alarmed military analysts
who note that Iraq's security forces already are unable to account for more
than 190,000 weapons supplied by the United States, many of which are
believed to be in the hands of Shiite and Sunni militias, insurgents and
other forces seeking to destabilize Iraq and target U.S. troops.
"The problem is that the Iraqi government doesn't have -- as yet -- a clear
plan for making sure that weapons are distributed, that they are properly
monitored and repeatedly checked," said Rachel Stohl of the Center for
Defense Information, an independent think tank. "The end-use monitoring will
be left in the hands of a government and military in Iraq that is not yet
ready for it. And there's not a way for the U.S. to mandate them to do it if
they're not U.S. weapons."
News of Iraq's arms deal came as Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the top
U.S. commander for day-to-day operations in Iraq, told editors and reporters
at The Washington Post yesterday that he expects a U.S. troop presence will
be required in the country for a minimum of "at least three to five more
years" and will involve 25,000 to 50,000 troops, depending on security
conditions.
Detailed planning is underway for the U.S. military to begin scaling back
its primary mission from one of fighting a counterinsurgency to an advisory
and training role, which will involve pulling U.S. troops out of Iraqi
cities and closing some U.S. bases, Odierno said. Odierno and Talabani, who
met separately with Post editors and reporters, said they expect their
governments to finalize a long-term bilateral security pact in 2008.
The capabilities of Iraqi security forces are pivotal to the U.S. exit
strategy in Iraq, with the creation of a viable police force critical to
reconciliation. Talabani said only one in five Iraqi police officers is
armed and called for faster weapons delivery from the United States to beef
up Iraq's fledgling army.
Iraq's police force is noted for infiltration by militias and insurgents out
to use national resources for their own ends, said William D. Hartung,
director of the New America Foundation Arms and Security Initiative.
"Besides, aside from possibly wanting newer models, there are piles of arms
and weapons floating around in Iraq," he said.
The Chinese arms deal sheds light on the larger dispute between the United
States and Iraq over rebuilding Iraq's armed forces and police. Iraqi
officials have long complained about the supply of weapons and equipment for
their personnel, noting that Iraqi security forces often patrol in pickup
trucks without body armor along the same routes as U.S. troops wearing flak
jackets and riding in armored vehicles.
"There is general frustration in the Iraqi government at the rate in which
Iraqi armed forces are being equipped and armed," Iraqi Ambassador Samir
Sumaidaie told reporters this summer. "This is a collaborative effort
between the Iraqi government and the government of the United States, and
the process is not moving quickly enough to improve the fighting capacity of
Iraqi armed forces. A way must be found to improve this process."
Talabani yesterday expressed frustration with the delays. "The capacity of
the factories here are not enough to provide us quickly with all that we
need, even for the army. One of our demands is to accelerate the delivery of
the arms to the Iraqi army."
Iraq has become one of the largest buyers of U.S.-made weapons. Army Gen.
David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told the Senate Armed
Services Committee last month that Baghdad has signed deals to buy $1.6
billion in U.S. arms, with another $1.8 billion in possible weapons
purchases.
Iraqis to Pay China $100 Million for Weapons for Police
Experts Fear More Will Go to Insurgents
By Robin Wright and Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 4, 2007; Page A12
Iraq has ordered $100 million worth of light military equipment from China
for its police force, contending that the United States was unable to
provide the materiel and is too slow to deliver arms shipments, Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani said yesterday.
The China deal, not previously made public, has alarmed military analysts
who note that Iraq's security forces already are unable to account for more
than 190,000 weapons supplied by the United States, many of which are
believed to be in the hands of Shiite and Sunni militias, insurgents and
other forces seeking to destabilize Iraq and target U.S. troops.
"The problem is that the Iraqi government doesn't have -- as yet -- a clear
plan for making sure that weapons are distributed, that they are properly
monitored and repeatedly checked," said Rachel Stohl of the Center for
Defense Information, an independent think tank. "The end-use monitoring will
be left in the hands of a government and military in Iraq that is not yet
ready for it. And there's not a way for the U.S. to mandate them to do it if
they're not U.S. weapons."
News of Iraq's arms deal came as Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the top
U.S. commander for day-to-day operations in Iraq, told editors and reporters
at The Washington Post yesterday that he expects a U.S. troop presence will
be required in the country for a minimum of "at least three to five more
years" and will involve 25,000 to 50,000 troops, depending on security
conditions.
Detailed planning is underway for the U.S. military to begin scaling back
its primary mission from one of fighting a counterinsurgency to an advisory
and training role, which will involve pulling U.S. troops out of Iraqi
cities and closing some U.S. bases, Odierno said. Odierno and Talabani, who
met separately with Post editors and reporters, said they expect their
governments to finalize a long-term bilateral security pact in 2008.
The capabilities of Iraqi security forces are pivotal to the U.S. exit
strategy in Iraq, with the creation of a viable police force critical to
reconciliation. Talabani said only one in five Iraqi police officers is
armed and called for faster weapons delivery from the United States to beef
up Iraq's fledgling army.
Iraq's police force is noted for infiltration by militias and insurgents out
to use national resources for their own ends, said William D. Hartung,
director of the New America Foundation Arms and Security Initiative.
"Besides, aside from possibly wanting newer models, there are piles of arms
and weapons floating around in Iraq," he said.
The Chinese arms deal sheds light on the larger dispute between the United
States and Iraq over rebuilding Iraq's armed forces and police. Iraqi
officials have long complained about the supply of weapons and equipment for
their personnel, noting that Iraqi security forces often patrol in pickup
trucks without body armor along the same routes as U.S. troops wearing flak
jackets and riding in armored vehicles.
"There is general frustration in the Iraqi government at the rate in which
Iraqi armed forces are being equipped and armed," Iraqi Ambassador Samir
Sumaidaie told reporters this summer. "This is a collaborative effort
between the Iraqi government and the government of the United States, and
the process is not moving quickly enough to improve the fighting capacity of
Iraqi armed forces. A way must be found to improve this process."
Talabani yesterday expressed frustration with the delays. "The capacity of
the factories here are not enough to provide us quickly with all that we
need, even for the army. One of our demands is to accelerate the delivery of
the arms to the Iraqi army."
Iraq has become one of the largest buyers of U.S.-made weapons. Army Gen.
David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told the Senate Armed
Services Committee last month that Baghdad has signed deals to buy $1.6
billion in U.S. arms, with another $1.8 billion in possible weapons
purchases.