The 15-vessel navy, launched in 2004, has also been participating in
point and
perimeter defense of offshore oil platforms, including search-and-seizure
operations.
Abraham said the navy also participated in the Iraqi military assault on
Basra in
March 2008.
"Those are the two key ports in Iraq," Abraham said. "And Umm Qasr has
90 percent of the imports and exports of the entire country, and was under
militia
control. They very successfully conducted that action, and now the navy
holds
those ports."
Officials said Iraq plans to acquire 21 vessels — all of which measure
more than 34 meters in length — starting in 2009. Another 26 smaller craft
has also been ordered by the navy for delivery over the next two years.
"Real work didn't start until 2005, so we're three years into this
process
of rebuilding from ground zero the Iraqi navy," Abraham said. "But we are
[building] successfully, and they are spending their money on developing a
navy."
Currently, the Iraq Navy contains five Chinese Predator patrol boats and
10 riverine craft. Officials acknowledged that the fleet has restricted the
navy
to one operation at a time.
"The [future procurement of] 15 patrol boats, four patrol ships, and
the two offshore support vessels, which are the major elements of the navy,
are all about protecting the oil platforms and making sure they're secure
from a non-state aggressor," Abraham said.
Abraham said the Iraq Navy has also been expanding its marine force.
Since April 2008, he said, the navy has formed and trained nearly two
marine battalions. Iraq operates a separate coast guard to patrol Iraqi
rivers and the Shatt Al Arab waterway between Iraq and Iran.
The British officer said the Iraq Navy, by far the smallest arm of the
military, remained years away from conducting independent counter-insurgency
operations. Abraham said the navy hoped to achieve such capability by 2011.
He said Iraq would need until at least 2018 to develop a navy that could
block
an attack by a foreign state.
"Sometimes it's difficult to persuade the Iraqi Ministry of Defense how
important it is to build up their navy with all the other challenges that
they've got," Abraham said. "They are very much land focused, because that's
where most of the fight has been."
