US 'to sell 18 F16 jets to Iraq'

[Lars77]

Source: Telegraph

Iraq had frozen the $4.2 billion deal earlier this year amid the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings, but the prospects were "promising" for the contract to now move ahead, General Russ Handy, head of the US air forces in Iraq, said.

"They are seeking to buy a larger number of F16s (than) they had originally, up to 36. This first letter of offer and acceptance is for 18 of them, so we hope to hear very soon, but no final word yet on that," Handy told reporters.

"Everyone I talk to, everyone within the government in Iraq is convinced it's the right choice for them, so we are very encouraged by those words and we feel that we are very close to them signing that letter of offer and acceptance."

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/8763357/US-to-sell-18-F16-jets-to-Iraq.html

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Why is an American Air Force General sounding like a salesperson? Somehow i don´t think any other countries jets like SAABs or Eurofighters were in contention, but shouldn´t the Iraqis have somebody to do this for themselves?

[Kennah]

1. It's the 1980s all over again

[Bosonic]

16. or early 90s?

Rocket attack on Iraq-Kuwait border escalates tensions

Tensions between Iraq and Kuwait appear to have escalated to violence after several rockets struck the border area between the two countries, where a controversial new mega-port project is under construction.

Relations between the two countries have slipped to their lowest ebb since the 1990-91 Gulf War after Kuwait began building the $1.1bn (£673m) Mubarak al-Kabir port on Bubiyan Island in May this year. Iraq argues that the new port, just 12 miles downstream from its own prestige port project, the Grand Faw, will strangle its narrow waterways and kill trade at its existing facilities.

Three Katyusha rockets hit the border area in the early hours of Friday morning last week, Al-Arabiya television reported. The rockets reportedly landed in Iraqi territory without reaching Kuwait.

While Iraqi officials have denied that the port was targeted, the Iraqi Shia militia Kata'ib Hezbollah had earlier threatened the South Korean consortium working on the project unless it stopped.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/rocket-attack-on-iraqkuwait-border-escalates-tensions-2345539.html

[msongs]

2. we trashed their country and killed their people, maybe the jets could be like...free nt

[DontTreadOnMe]

3. we trashed their country...

and now instead of letting them use their own money to rebuild, we force them to buy weapons -- from us.

and in twenty years from now, we will have to go back and "take them out again" ... endless circle jerk from the military industrial complex.

[Johnson20]

13. Please explain

how we are forcing them to do this. I guess I just don't understand your comment.

[Spider Jerusalem]

4. Theoretically the Iraqis should be handling their own defence procurement

however the US doesn't really want that; giving them F16's means that the US maintains ultimate control over the avionics package and targeting software. Given the choice I can't imagine they'd have gone with the F-16's, the restrictions placed on them by the US for export are rather restrictive, and the F-16 is in many respects a less capable aeroplane than some competing models. (See the recent selection process by the Indian Air Force for new fighter planes in which they rejected the F-16 in favour of either the French Rafale or the Eurofighter Typhoon for instance.) Although at the same time I would suspect that there's a sort of "they owe us!" mindset involved.

[Lars77]

6. When Norway selected a new AC our govt rigged the contest so the demands matched the JSF

The Swedes were pissed off about that, the Eurofighter pulled out cause they saw it coming. The Rafale was never even talked about.

Turns out that the US Embassy was extremely forceful towards our government to make sure that we bought the US one. Thanks wikileaks!



And now it turns out the plane might suck anyway.

[FreeBillClinton]

5. I don't think the US sells F16s. Lockheed Martin does.

[go west young man]

8. Wikileaks has taught us that the representatives for the MIC

when negotiating weapons deals are U.S. ambassadors. Therefore the MIC and the U.S. are one and the same.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

10. Didn't need Wikileaks for that.

The French started it when Francois Mitterrand took on the role of official "BSD" (see: Urban Dictionary) for French industry. The guy brought in more business for Airbus, Dassault and Thales than their own salesmen ever could. When you have a French President and diplomatic entourage selling airplanes. The rest of the world couldn't stay on the sidelines when the French had afforded themselves that kind of access.

[tcaudilllg]

7. Something about this seems like a really bad idea.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

9. Might as well save everyone time, effort and money and just deliver them in Iranian colors

Since any distinction between "liberated" Iraq and Iran is redundant.

[kiranon]

12. Well said. n./t

[makhno]

11. Iraq might want to talk to Pakistan and Iran ...

... about the judiciousness of purchasing military hardware from the US.

As I see it, four F-16s (antediluvian Block 30s from storage?) for photogenic flypasts, with the rest providing spare parts.

[sarcasmo]

14. Money for this 4.2 billion dollar deal but no money for the sick and elderly.

War America, what a bullshit country I live in.

[MikeW]

18. you apparently flunked accounting - its a sale of goods

#1 - the money goes to Lockheed who builds the aircraft

#2 - doesn't cost the US anything.

[sarcasmo]

19. "The money" where do you think "the money" came from. It came from the U.S. Government

The same government who claims it has no money for social programs.

[jmowreader]

15. Great...

Then in twenty years when the new Iraqi dictator decides to use the F-16s to recapture Kuwait, bomb Israel or do something else hostile to American interests, we'll have to go BACK there and have ANOTHER fucking war! That is, unless the US is going to put "Directive 4: Never oppose Israel" in these planes' targeting computers.

[Gin]

17. (IMO)I think we are not selling them...but donating them as a good will

gesture...we outfit their army why not their air force...have we given them any boats /ships/ or subs yet?

[sarcasmo]

20. According to post #18 it doesn't cost the government anything.

[jmowreader]

21. It will, when they start blowing up shit we don't want blown up...

and then we're going to have to go over there with a glass cutter because Israel is going to nuke Iraq into Corning-Ware if the Iraqis get stupid enough.