10/01/2014 14:28
Al Qaeda seizes American weapons in Iraq
The worst fears of the United States are coming true: after the takeover of Fallujah, al-Qaeda militants seized the weapons left by the Americans for the Baghdad government, Paolo Mastrolilly reports to the La Stampa newspaper, according to the Voice of Russia.
"The matter is not about Hellfire missiles or drones and not about the F-16 fighters, which Washington has not delivered yet, but about automatic weapons and artillery systems remaining at the disposal of the Iraqi army after the withdrawal of the US troops," the article says. "This issue has caused controversy in Washington among those who lay the blame on President Obama for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, while others blame George Bush, who in his time had adopted the decision to invade this country."
It is known that the groups operating in Syria and Iraq – the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – has stolen weapons delivered by the CIA to the rebels fighting against the Assad regime. This fact forced the US to stop the deliveries. As for Iraq, rifles and artillery mounts remained there after the withdrawal of the American troops.
When Obama decided to withdraw the troops, Washington was trying to negotiate with Baghdad on leaving a security contingent in the country, but Iraq's Parliament refused to guarantee immunity to the US forces. However, after the withdrawal of troops, about 200 people belonging to the Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq remained in the country to provide assistance in training its national armed forces without participating in hostilities, the correspondent reports.
Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated that the US would not return to Iraq: "We are ready to provide any necessary assistance, but in this case it regards the war that the Iraqis are waging.”
"In fact, Washington had overthrown Saddam, and then took part in training the armed forces of the new government, which denied the presence of American troops in Iraq," the author concludes. "Now it is Baghdad’s turn to prove whether it can keep control of its own territory."
The White House said on Monday that the United States is accelerating its military sales and deliveries to Iraq to help the country fight al Qaeda-linked militants, part of a strategy to isolate the insurgent groups.
The United States is looking to provide additional shipments of Hellfire missiles as early as this spring, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in a briefing.
Carney said the United States will provide 10 ScanEagle surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Iraq in upcoming weeks and 48 Raven surveillance UAVs later this year to help Iraq track al Qaeda-affiliated groups.