In $600 million arms deal, U.S. plans to send 46,000 tank rounds to Iraq
Washington is preparing to send the Iraqi military 46,000 rounds for its fleet of M1A1 Abrams tanks in a $600 million foreign weapons sale, the latest indication that Baghdad is preparing for a new military campaign to take back turf it lost to the Islamic State militant group.
The State Department said the deal will advance Iraqs efforts to develop an integrated ground defense capability to support a strong national defense. The announcement comes as the Iraqi government struggles with how to take back Mosul, its second most populous city, and broad swaths of western Anbar province from the militants.
The government in Baghdad requested four different kinds of 120mm rounds, which are used in the tanks main gun. Most will be variations of the Pentagons high-explosive anti-tank munitions, or HEAT rounds. Theyre built to penetrate the armor of other vehicles and tanks, and can hit a target a mile away. Militants have captured both armored personnel carriers and tanks from Iraqi government forces this year, and are using them to maintain control of territory they have seized.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/10/20/in-600-million-arms-deal-u-s-plans-to-send-46000-tank-rounds-to-iraq/
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)Vincardog
(20,234 posts)al_liberal
(420 posts)We've never been about promoting democracy around the world. We've been about selling weapons. The puppet governments are always fine so long as they pay off our MIC.
PeoViejo
(2,178 posts)Unfortunately, when they abandoned their Combat Vehicles, they also left the Ammunition Depots intact for ISIS.