Tanks for Iraq
Agency
Backs More Abrams for Iraq in ISIS Fight
The State Department has approved sending more
U.S.-made Abrams tanks to Iraq to help
the government there fight Islamic militants.
The agency on Friday announced it “made a
determination approving a possible” sale to the country of as many as 175
additional M1A1 tanks made by General Dynamics Corp. and other equipment.
Congress was notified of the proposal, which could be worth as much as $2.4
billion.
The
Iraqi government will use the tracked vehicles “to facilitate progress towards
increasing its ability to mobilize and defend its border,” states a release
from the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which overseas
so-called foreign military sales. “Iraq will have no difficulty absorbing this
equipment into its armed forces.”
The question, however, is not whether the government
of Iraq but rather militants affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and
Syria, an al-Qaeda-inspired extremist group that has overtaken large areas of
both countries, will have trouble commandeering the weaponry.
Extremists with ISIS, also known as ISIL — and, if
Arab allies have their way, “Daeshi,” a derogatory
term for bigots who try to impose their will on others — reportedly destroyed
or damaged many pieces of U.S.-made hardware as they conquered military bases
in Iraq.
That
reportedly includes roughly a third of the 140 Abrams tanks the U.S. already
delivered to Iraq. What’s more, ISIS militants were seen driving around AM
General LLC-made Humvees owned by the Iraqi military, among other combat
vehicles. Today, Iraqi forces only have about 40 usable tanks, according to
Foreign Policy.
The Iraqi tanks are not the same as those in the U.S.
Army inventory, as James Dunnigan of StrategyPage.comnotes:
Iraq
received newly built tanks, largely equipped to the “SA” (Situational
Awareness”) standard the U.S. Army developed in 2006. The M1A1-SA includes the
latest thermal (FLIR, or heat sensing) sights, a special engine air filter
system developed to deal with the abundant sand and dust in Iraq, the telephone
on the rear fender, which allows accompanying infantry to communicate with the
crew, and numerous small improvements.
There are several items
that American M1s have the Iraqi SA tanks did not get. The Iraqi M1A1s had no
depleted uranium armor, no ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor), and no additional
protection against anti-tank missiles. Also missing was Blue Force Tracker (a
U.S. satellite tracking system that shows the location of all American vehicles
and aircraft in the vicinity).
The
State Department also on Friday approved a similar but separate deal with Iraq
valued at almost $600 million for 1,000 armored Humvees and assorted weapons
and equipment.
U.S. military vehicles coming back from Afghanistan
are reportedly being detoured to a depot in Kuwait in preparation for use in a
possible offensive against the Islamic State, according to an article by Paul Shinkman
of U.S. News and World Report. The facility now houses some 3,100 vehicles,
mostly mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs, he reported.
Meanwhile, the new defense spending bill includes $120 million for
tanks that the Army has repeatedly said it doesn’t want.
No comments:
Post a Comment