Russia To Supply Attack Helicopters, Air-Defense Systems To Iraq

[Chicog]

If you wish to play catch up with what has been happening in Iraq since December I would suggest you start by googling "Al Maliki government".

Then perhaps "power grab", "loyalists", and other words which might eventually get you to agree that the Shi'a have the upper hand in Iraq and Maliki has surrounded himself with almost the same kind of cronies that Saddam did.

As to how Iranian influence is growing in Iraq, google that also. When pictures of the Ayatollah are openly displayed in the streets, you might be able to sense a change.

As for "showing my comments to be false", how did you do that when I was giving an opinion? And as for thinking I'm a Republican, well I don't quite know how you deduce that.

I thought that last invasion was destined to end in the virtual handover of Iraq to Teheran before it even started; if the Shi'a were as prone to suicide bombing as the Sunni are, the death toll would be a lot, lot higher.

As for Talabani, he is pretty well a talking head these days; even the Kurds would only give him an hour yesterday. I believe the US wanted him out two years ago, didn't they?

[Scott]

I suggest that you not tell other posters what to do and not to do.

And here's a link you might want to read: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules

Start with number 1.

[Chicog]

I would actually prefer something more like discussion; I can only perceive what I see to be the situation based on the information available to me through 25 years of living in the Middle East. If you or any other poster would like to offer more information or opinion on the subject in this thread, I'd be pleased to hear it.

I'm not exactly thrilled about Iran's influence possibly spreading from the Straits of Hormuz to the Israeli/Lebanese border (not to mention beyond).

I've stated what I think is happening in Iraq as Malaki spreads his influence, and have yet to see anything that shakes that belief.

(Still not sure why that would make me a Republican, though).

[Morch]

Bribes and personal gains aside, USA arms cost more and often provided with certain restrictions.

Some of the equipment used by Iraq's armed forces is of Russian origin, getting an updated version of some may not be a bad notion. Easier on training, maintenance and overall integration. Another consideration is not being dependent on a single military supplier.

I wouldn't go so far as to belittle the weapon systems discussed, btw.

[Chicog]

My point was though that if it's difficult for Russia to get its weapons to Syria through other means - both air and sea transport have been intercepted - then their new Iraqi friends make the ideal go-between.

You're not wrong about the effectiveness of Russia weapons systems, their technology has caught up significantly in the last decade or so, and they have the money now to acquire the best resources.

Added: Oh and indeed It was Ayad Allawi that the US wanted to take over from Talabani. Apparently they felt he'd provide more of a counterpoint to Maliki's ambitions. Perhaps Scott can shed some light on this if he was there at the time.

Edited October 14, 2012 by Chicog

[theslime]

My point was though that if it's difficult for Russia to get its weapons to Syria through other means - both air and sea transport have been intercepted - then their new Iraqi friends make the ideal go-between.

You're not wrong about the effectiveness of Russia weapons systems, their technology has caught up significantly in the last decade or so, and they have the money now to acquire the best resources.

Added: Oh and indeed It was Ayad Allawi that the US wanted to take over from Talabani. Apparently they felt he'd provide more of a counterpoint to Maliki's ambitions. Perhaps Scott can shed some light on this if he was there at the time.

It is possible to overland from Russia via Iran then on to Shia in Iraq to their Shia Buddies in Syria. The Russians and Iranians have worked together before, many times. Baksheesh is the way.

[Morch]

The Iraqi air force is going through a process of renewal and upgrading, these last few years. Other deals have been signed with various countries, some more on the horizon. They were shopping around for proposals for a while now. Doubt the main aim here is to transfer arms to Syria.

[Chicog]

The Iraqi air force is going through a process of renewal and upgrading, these last few years. Other deals have been signed with various countries, some more on the horizon. They were shopping around for proposals for a while now. Doubt the main aim here is to transfer arms to Syria.

Oh I'm with you on that, just a convenient opportunity is all.

[Chicog]

There's an interesting piece at the link below on the recent arms deal.

Moscow’s arms market in Iraq was disrupted when the US invasion overthrew Saddam. But now the current Iraqi government of Nuri al-Malikihas concluded a contractto buy Russian arms worth more than $4.2 billion, according to a joint statement issued after negotiations between Maliki and Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev. The deal features attack helicopters and surface-to-air missile systems.

Further discussions under way between Russia and Iraq aim at additional arms sales that would include MiG-29 fighters, more helicopters and other heavy weaponry. The Russians of today, like the Soviets of yesteryear, do not seem to have any of the compunctions,which sometimes figure into American deliberations about arms exports, including to Iraq, about the recipient’s human-rights record or other political conditions in the recipient country. It is not out of the question for Russia to replace the United States in the foreseeable future as Iraq’s largest arms supplier.

We can draw several implications from this news. One is that it fills in further the picture of what legacy was left in Iraq by the US war that ousted Saddam. The regime that emerged from the rubble is not only increasingly authoritarian and narrowly sectarian and not only chummy with Iran; it also is becoming a client of Moscow. A trifecta of failure.

http://www.middle-ea...glish/?id=54896

Edited October 15, 2012 by Chicog

[GiHadOrange]

Further proof that Iraq is not a puppet of America. You guys should be thrilled.

the OP says: ... an arms deal worth more than $4.2 billion, making Russia the second-biggest weapons supplier to the Middle Eastern country after the United States, officials said on Wednesday.

and some argue here that Iraq is now a client state of Moscow and however bad it is that Iraq buys some weapons from Russia.

Meanwhile the US are still the supplier number 1. You guys should be thrilled. That should also disprove all these Russia bashing claims.

[midas]

And it gets worse because what a terrible waste of all those resources and lives that were spent fighting the war

Edited October 17, 2012 by midas

[theslime]

Good Old Exxon, Sure they can pick up the slack with their Murderous Partners in Equatorial Guinea.

[GentlemanJim]

How funny. The Iraqi's have made a decision based on their new found principles of democracy that the USA has 'instilled' in the country. Way to go Bush and Chenney, you must be so proud that democracy is now working. How many servicemen lost their lives again for this?

[Chicog]

I doubt Bush or Cheney give a stuff, both they and their friends achieved *their* objectives long ago.

[Chicog]

Maliki may well be quite pleased about this.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who has mediated among the country's Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish parties, was in hospital on Tuesday after suffering a stroke that left him in "critical but stable condition", government sources said.

Should Talabani be incapacitated, Iraq would lose an influential negotiator who often stepped in to ease tensions in the fragile power-sharing government and between the central government and the country's autonomous Kurdistan region.

Talabani's office said he was admitted to a Baghdad hospital on Monday night and the 79-year-old president was in stable condition under intensive medical supervision after receiving treatment for blocked arteries.

"He was transferred to hospital late last night after suffering a stroke," a senior Kurdish official said.

Talabani had been suffering from ill health this year and received medical treatment overseas several times in the last two years.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited the president at the Baghdad hospital on Tuesday.

[folium]

Thank you for reminding me about this non story...

From just over a month ago..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20278774

Funny that none of the usual suspects mentioned this as it would so obviously spoil their little conspiracy theories, or perhaps it was not on Fox News or Gates of Vienna or similar such broad-minded media.