Does Iraq have any tanks?

[TAE]

How strong is the Iraqi military now?

Do they have tanks, fighter jets, a navy?

Just wondering how close they are to being able to defend their own country, and what is preventing them from getting there.

 

[dylanredefined]

They got some t72s which are russian tanks and some bmp&mtlb which are russian armoured personnal carriers . What they used before .Navys small coastal patrol craft air force spotter planes at moment .Don't really have an external threat .For all iran may want to settle scores doubt they want to go
get involved .Threat is mostly internal those tanks are good enough its all ways abit of morale boast to have armour on your side .

 

[moono]

That kind of hardware is expensive and difficult to maintain. We'd be better off providing them with an assortment of wmd.

 

[coastloop]

They have civilians that are USA targets.

They have civilians that are targets of Saadam Hussain supporters.

They have civilians that are targets of ex-anti-government groups.

Is that enough cannon fodder?

 

[oi2002]

I read somewhere they don't even have decent rifles, lack body armor, and have very limited night vision equipment... Bit like the British army then except their boots don't melt.

This has some details.

They do have a few Hungarian T72s, as the Iraqi army abandoned it's T55s in the field I imagine a few of those survived. You are never going to win a counter insurgency campaign if you hide in armor all the time but they could do with armored Humvees rather than the Toyota pickups they seem to rely on. I think there is one Battalion with helicopters which are probably more vital. Trained pilots are in short supply. A large part of the old Iraqi army Officer corps is fighting with the rebels so they are also short of competent officers and NCOs.

I haven't heard anything about heavy artillary which given they have limited air power could be decisive. Suspect the Yanks are afraid to give them that in case they end up on the receiving end..

 

[Bigdavalad]

Although NATO have just bought them a load of T-72s, they have very few soldiers qualified to look after them properly - tanks are useless without mechanics, armourers, technicians and the like.

 

[TAE]

I am really not advokating massive arms deals here, but surely a decent military needs to be in place before the US/UK can withdraw their forces, and I just find it slightly suspicious that very little seems to be happening in that direction.

I haven't heard anything about heavy artillary which given they have limited air power could be decisive. Suspect the Yanks are afraid to give them that in case they end up on the receiving end..

I guess it's possible the the US/UK are waiting until the insurgency is over (when?) and then plan to exchange lots of military hardware for lots of oil.

Although NATO have just bought them a load of T-72s ...

ok.

... they have very few soldiers qualified to look after them properly - tanks are useless without mechanics, armourers, technicians and the like.

Obviously that needs to be part of the whole package.

 

[oi2002]

Given the Iraqi Army is a largely sectarian force there may be some drawbacks to giving them heavy equipment:

Ghilan is a major in the Iraqi army and a Shiite Muslim, the sect that makes up some 60 percent of Iraq's population. Now, more than ever, the grieving father says he wants to hunt down and kill not only Sunni guerrilla fighters but also Sunnis who give those fighters shelter and support. By that, he means killing most Sunnis in Iraq.

"There are two Iraqs; it's something that we can no longer deny," Ghilan said. "The army should execute the Sunnis in their neighborhoods so that all of them
can see what happens, so that all of them learn their lesson."
...
The brigade last week raided the home of Saleh al-Mutlak, one of the most prominent Sunni politicians in the country, a day after an Iraqi soldier was shot and killed in the neighborhood. Soldiers said some gunfire had come from the direction of Mutlak's house during the raid on his neighborhood.

Arab satellite news stations carried images of a car with its windows smashed in Mutlak's driveway, and Mutlak held a news conference, saying that the soldiers who came into his home were thugs.

Sgt. Maj. Asad al-Zubaidi said Mutlak was lucky he wasn't shot.

"When we are in charge of security the people will follow a law that says you will be sentenced to prison if you speak against the government, and for people like Saleh Mutlak there will be execution," Zubaidi said. "Thousands of people are being killed by Saleh Mutlak and these dogs."
...
Two days after the shooting, Sgt. Ahmed Sabri stood outside the Umm al Qura mosque, home to the militant Sunni Muslim Scholars Association. The mosque is just down the road from where Jabar was shot.

"Every man we've had killed and wounded is because of that mosque. Thousands and thousands of Shiites are being killed, which is why they're joining the army," Sabri said. "Just let us have our constitution and elections in December and then we will do what Saddam did - start with five people from each neighborhood and kill them in the streets and then go from there."

Asked if he worried about possible fighting between his men and the Sunnis at Umm al Qura, the brigade's command sergeant major, Hassan Kadhum, smiled.

"Your country had to have a civil war," he said. "It will be the same here. Everything in this world has its price. In Iraq the price for peace will be blood."

Link

 

[Bigdavalad]

Obviously that needs to be part of the whole package.

Generally when you buy arms, training and tech back up comes as a part of the package (for example, you buy 96 Challenger 2 tanks from BAe and you'll get a supply of parts and technical training as part of the package).

With the T-72s being second hand, Iraq may be relying on a friendly T-72 owning country for tech support and training - which could see Russia getting involved in Iraqi affairs, probably annoying the Spams.

 

[G. Fieendish]

Re:Last Comment
The Ukrane, or Poland maybe....?
(Other possible countries include Pakistan or India)

 

[Bigdavalad]

Re:Last Comment
The Ukrane, or Poland maybe....?
(Other possible countries include Pakistan or India)

Maybe - although Russia would be the most obvious choice and were very friendly with Iraq before the invasion.

Depends on who the Americans let Iraq be mates with I suppose.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Maybe - although Russia would be the most obvious choice and were very friendly with Iraq before the invasion.

Yeah, $10 billion+ friendly.

 

[oi2002]

Maybe - although Russia would be the most obvious choice and were very friendly with Iraq before the invasion.

Depends on who the Americans let Iraq be mates with I suppose.

As Baghdad and Tehran are so cosy these days I'd suspect they'll end up wth the same suppliers and the hapless Yanks will just have to sit and fume.

Iran's main supplier is Russia but China is becoming increasingly involved. The Chinese don't piss about, they want the oil and arms deals, espeacially hi-tech missle technology are a way of deepening the strategic relationship between them. Ironically Israel is one of China's main hi-tech weapons suppliers.

 

[FruitandNut]

Money, oil and unscrupulous politics create strange 'bed mates', indeed.

 

[ska invita]

How strong is the Iraqi military now?

Do they have tanks, fighter jets, a navy?

Just wondering how close they are to being able to defend their own country, and what is preventing them from getting there.

what are you planning?

 

[G. Fieendish]

Btw, according to a military vehicle collector's magazine, Poland's just sold Iraq $60 million dollars worth of armoured "Internal Security" vehicles to replace their old Toyota pickups, & some Humvees...
(The order was for 300 "Wild Boar 3" wheeled armoured personell carriers...).
Grimley

 

[TAE]

Poland! Why do people keep forgetting poland!