At the beginning of October 2012, Iraq’s Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki went on a diplomatic mission to Russia and the Czech Republic.
After meeting with each country’s leaders, the premier signed two large arms
deals for jets, helicopters, and ground-to-air missiles. These will be used for
both internal and external defense, with the latter being a high priority as
the nation lacks any real air defense at this time. As with most major
decisions made by Baghdad, these contracts got caught up in domestic politics
as the Kurdish Coalition criticized them. Iraq has traditionally bought weapons
from Eastern Europe, and has done so in recent years, and will likely to
continue to do so in the future, regardless of what the Kurds have to say about
it.
Iraq bought 30 Mi28NE attack helicopters fro Russia (Wikipedia) |
During Prime Minister Maliki’s trip to Russia and the Czech
Republic he made two weapons purchases. First, he signed a $4.2 billion deal with Russia to buy 30 Mi-28NE attack helicopters and 42 Pantsir-S1
anti-aircraft systems. In the Czech Republic, he made an additional purchase of 28 L-159 jets. The first four of those will come from the Czech
Air Force, with the remaining 24 being built by Aero Vodochody, to be delivered
beginning in 2014. Some of those will be two-seat trainers, so that the
Iraqi Air Force can familiarize themselves with how to fly them. The Mi-28 is
the Russians’ current attack helicopter, while the L-159 is a light combat jet.
Both can be used for fighting the insurgency that continues to plague Iraq or
be used for defense against foreign ground and air forces. Iraq already has a small contingent of armed American Bell 407 and French SA342 Gazelle helicopters, and is waiting for delivery of F-16 fighters from the United States. The Pantsir S1 is a combination ground-to-air missile and
anti-aircraft guns mobile system that will provide the country with desperately
needed air defense. Currently Iraq relies upon a variety of anti-aircraft guns and eight U.S. Avenger air defense systems. It needs to purchase a
variety of ordinance to be able to defend its own skies. It hopes to be
self-reliant in this field by 2020. A lot of Iraq’s military equipment comes
from the United States, but that comes with restrictions on their use to
protect against a return to dictatorship. Russia places no such restrictions on the weapons it is selling to Iraq. Baghdad also has a long
history of buying equipment from Eastern Europe dating back to the government of Colonel Abdul al-Karim Qasim who started buying from the Soviet Union after he
took power in a 1958 coup. It is no surprise then that it is going to
places like Russia and the Czech Republic for its military needs today.
Iraq also bought L-159 jets from the Czech Republic (Wikipedia) |
Within days of the Russian and Czech arms deals being
publicized, the Kurdish Coalition voiced their reservations. On October 13, a lawmaker from the Coalition said that the list was concerned about Prime Minister Maliki’s moves. He said that the premier had taken some
provocative actions in the disputed areas of Ninewa and Diyala province, and
just created the Tigris Operations Command, which is based in Tamim
governorate. The Kurdish parliamentarian asked whether the contracts had limits
on the use of the weapons against civilians, commented that Iraq did not need
such heavy weapons at this time, and that the Kurdish peshmerga should be
similarly armed. These complaints have been heard before from the Kurdish list
after new arms purchases were announced. In January 2011 for instance, a Kurdish member of parliament warned against Baghdad buying F-16s from the U.S. In March 2012, Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani gave a speech where he
claimed that Maliki was trying to take over the armed forces, and that the
F-16s would be used to challenge the Kurds. The following month, he called on the United States to delay the delivery of the fighters. These worries
are due to the long history of the central government using the military
against the Kurds. Saddam was infamous for his Anfal campaign after the
Iran-Iraq War, but there were a series of military campaigns against the Kurds
after Iraq got its independence. President Barzani has also attempted to unseat
Maliki, so these views relate to that on-going political dispute since these
weapons would help the prime minister grow in strength.
During a recent visit to Washington, KRG Pres. Barzani asked the U.S. to delay the delivery of F-16 fighters (Rudaw) |
Iraq is attempting to build a military capable of defending
the country from outside threats. Since the 2003 American invasion, Iraq has
been a weak state, which has opened it up to widespread interference by its
neighbors. With a strong military, Baghdad would not be so vulnerable to these
interventions. At the same time, a strengthened armed forces worries the Kurds.
A military attack upon Kurdistan is not likely any time soon, but the central
government could use its army and air force to assert itself over the disputed
territories, which the Kurdistan Regional Government claim. That’s the reason
why the Kurdish Coalition always complains about any major arms purchase
Baghdad makes. They have no real say over the purchases however. Since Iraq
needs so much in terms of ordinance, more arms deals will occur in the future
regardless of the criticism it may engender.
SOURCES
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Deals,” 10/10/12
AIN, “Kurds have concerns over IA ideology, says Kurdish
MP,” 4/25/12
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of Maliki’s military aircrafts,” 4/23/12
Alsabawi, Jasim, “Kurdish President Barzani Criticized for
Resistance to F-16 Deal,” Rudaw, 4/29/12
Arkhipov, Ilya, “Putting Says Iraq Arms Deal Shows Trust In
Russian Weaponry,” Bloomberg, 10/10/12
Berlinger, Joshua, “Why You Shouldn’t Worry About The
‘Threat’ Of Russia,” Business Insider, 10/12/12
Elliott, DJ, “Iraq Order of Battle, Page 6: Iraqi Aviation”
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Toast, August 2012
- “Iraqi Security Forces Update September 2012,” Montrose
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Fiddian, Paul, “Czech L-159 Jet Trainers For Iraqi Air
Force,” Armed Forces International News, 10/12/12
Griffis, Margaret, “Kurds Approve Heavy Weapons For
Themselves, Baghdad Says No,” Anti-War.com, 4/29/12
Ibrahim, Waleed, “Iraq says to buy 36 F-16 fighters from
U.S.,” Reuters, 7/30/11
Al Jazeera, “What is behind Iraq’s arms deal with Russia,”
10/10/12
National Iraqi News Agency, “Kurdistan Alliance showing
concern of the government heavy weapons purchasing from Russian and Czech,”
10/13/12
Pillar, Paul, “Iraq Comes Full Circle,” The National
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Rao, Prashant, “Iraq PM ‘monopolising power:’ Kurdish
leader,” Agence France Presse, 3/20/12
Reuters, “Iraq buys $4.2 billion in Russian weapons:
document,” 10/9/12
Al-Salhy, Suadad and Hovet, Jason, “Iraq agrees to buy 28
Czech combat jets,” Reuters, 10/12/12
Schmidt, Michael, and Schmitt, Eric, “Weapons Sales to Iraq
Move Ahead Despite U.S. Worries,” New York Times, 12/28/11
Tawfeeq, Mohammed, “Iraq, Russia ink weapons deal,” CNN,
10/12/12
Van Wilgenburg, Wladimir, “Barzani Suggests Baghdad Might
Use F-16s Against Kurds,” Rudaw, 4/9/12
- “Iraq Analysis: Kurdistan’s Contest with Prime Minister
al-Maliki Heats Up,” Enduring America, 4/29/12
- “US State Department: F-16 Sale Will Go Ahead,” Rudaw,
4/29/12
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Union, A Country Study, Washington D.C., Federal Research Division, Library
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