Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Congress, skeptical of the military’s ability, has been closely examining Iraqi’s request for combat platforms.

Congressional sources said the House and Senate were Iraq’s requests for main battle tanks and armored fighting vehicles. They said Congress withheld approval for the request, informally submitted in February 2014 during the rule of then-Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki.

“There are lots of questions as to the Iraqi military and who will control these vehicles,” a source said.

[Related: U.S. approves $700 million in military sales to Iraq following catastrophic reverses, Nov. 17]

The Iraqi request, part of which was formally released on Nov. 21, includes 175 M1A1 MBTs, 200 Stryker and Bradley vehicles. The request was approved by the Defense Department and State Department.

In a Pentagon request to Congress, the first stage of the project was meant to equip an Iraq Army brigade with U.S. weapons. The cost of the weapons and platforms was said to reach $89.3 million for each of the nine brigades.

“The Training Sites, Facilities, and Communications funding line supports initial estimates regarding repair and construction of training sites, perimeter security, ammunition supply points, entry control points, airfield repair, and C4I to include tactical display, phones and RAID towers,” the Pentagon said.

The sources said Congress withheld approval because of objections to Al Maliki as well as the need to help Kurdish forces in northern Iraq. They said the House and Senate could renew their examination with the appointment of Al Maliki’s successor, Haider Al Abadi.

The administration of President Barack Obama has also approved an Iraqi request of MRAP, or mine-resistant ambush-protected armored vehicles, and Humvee combat vehicles. Baghdad has also ordered the F-16 multi-role fighter as well as the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

The Washington-based Foreign Policy reported that Iraq lost half of its first batch of 140 Abrams MBTs during the ISIL offensive in the summer of 2014. The magazine quoted former Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi that the Iraq Army, which lost about half of its 50 brigades, contains about 40 operational tanks.

“Militants may have also captured a few,” Obeidi was quoted as saying.

  Congress giving extra scrutiny to new Iraq military requests, WorldTribune.com