Feral Jundi

Iraq has ordered or requested more than $13 billion worth of U.S. arms, as well as a shipment of 18 F-16s, which aren’t expected to arrive at least until 2013 even if the order receives swift congressional approval.

“It’s inevitable,” he said. “We have equipment such as tanks, aircraft, naval equipment, and it’s all coming from the United States. They won’t be fully ready until 2016, so how are we going to train on them? By mail? We will need the help of specialists and experts and trainers and those people are going to need life support and force protection.”

Otherwise, he added, “all the expenses I paid for … will be in vain.” 

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The issue of a continuing American presence is politically sensitive in Baghdad and Washington. No Iraqi politician seeking to head the next government could risk calling for the U.S. military, which led the 2003 invasion of their country, to stay longer. The faction loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr, whose support could prove crucial to any future government, opposed the agreement that allowed U.S. troops to stay as long as 2011, and has said it will not back any government that permits them to stay any longer. 

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     I stumbled upon this article the other day while doing my research and this jumped out at me.  As you can see with the two quotes up top, as well as what the article as a whole was discussing, we are in a very peculiar situation in Iraq.  We have given them all of this American hardware like the F-16 or the M-1 Abrams, and yet politically we are unable to stick around to make sure the Iraqis can take care of the stuff.  Enter the contractor.

     With that said, one could say that contractors will not only be important to the DoS mission or the oil companies, but also to the defense companies doing business with the Iraqi MoD.  The companies that make this hardware will need a place to stay that is safe, they will need protection they can depend upon, and those protectors will have to be folks that know the ins and outs of Iraq. Security contractors will be very important in these early transition years.

    Not only that, but armies like the Iraqi Army, whom are trained to western standards will undoubtedly need more western ways of warfare ‘tune ups’.  It is not enough to give them a tank, an APC, or jet and call it a day.  They need to know maintenance, strategy, limits and capabilities, etc.–and all of that requires a western trainer who can hold their hand and give them guidance. Think Vinnell Arabia, but in Iraq.(a defense company that has been training Saudi Arabia’s military for years) Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if Vinnell Arabia was called upon to be that company to provide these services in Iraq.

    The next point is time frame.  As American and European equipment continues to saturate the Iraq defense stockpile, we have essentially created a self perpetuating business relationship between Iraq and the west. We basically create their dependence on the stuff.  This general below mentioned several dates like 2016 or 2020, but realistically Iraq will need this kind of support for as long as they have a military dependent on this equipment.  And if they ever were able to optimize their oil production and make profit off of it, I believe they will take somewhat of the same path as Saudi Arabia when it comes to defense. (lots of current equipment and quality trainers to go with) Of course this scenario would take a bit to get to that point, but you get the idea.  The relationship between private industry and Iraq defense will be a constant over the years, just as long as Iraq’s defense depends upon western military hardware and know how, and they have neighbors that they consider to be ‘external threats’.

    The final point is that we are also building Afghanistan’s defense and they too will need help with it well after the war is over. Not to mention that Afghanistan and the US is becoming more politically sensitive when it comes to troop deployments. Contractors who know Afghanistan will be important as well.  Of course we are not at this phase yet, but you get the idea and it is definitely something to think about. Interesting stuff. –Matt

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Iraqi official foresees a U.S. military presence until 2016

Baghdad is buying American military gear and weapons, which have yet to arrive. U.S. forces must stay to train Iraqis on how to use them, Defense Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi says.

September 08, 2010

By Liz Sly

Some form of U.S. military presence will be needed in Iraq at least until 2016 to provide training, support and maintenance for the vast quantity of military equipment and weaponry that Iraq is buying from America, Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi said.

In addition, Iraq will continue to need help with intelligence gathering after 2011, and the fledgling Iraqi air force will require U.S. assistance at least until 2020, the date by which Iraq aims to achieve the capability to defend its airspace, Obeidi said.

The comments were made in an interview a week after President Obama declared the end of U.S. combat operations and reaffirmed America’s commitment to pull out all its troops by the end of 2011, under the terms of a security agreement reached by the Bush administration and the Iraqi government in 2008.

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