Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States, after its military withdrawal,
has been quietly preparing the Iraq Air Force to operate its forthcoming
fleet of F-16 multi-role fighters.

Officials said the U.S. Air Force was training Iraqi military pilots in
Tucson, Ariz. in cooperation with the Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter
Wing. The pilots began classroom instruction on Jan. 23, with flying
scheduled to begin by March.

“The first of the Iraqi pilots that will learn how to fly F-16s recently
arrived in Tucson with the 162nd Fighter Wing, an Air National Guard unit that specializes in training foreign pilots to fly F-16s,” wing spokesman Maj. Gabe Johnson said.

[On March 5, at least 27 people were killed in suspected Al Qaida
attacks on police checkpoints in Iraq’s Anbar province. Most of the
casualties were identified as police officers whose positions were ambushed around the western town of Haditha.]

In December, Iraq signed a Letter of Offer and Agreement for 18
F-16 Block 52 aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Baghdad also told Washington that it would acquire another 18 such combat platforms.

Officials said Iraqi pilots would join F-16 flights from February
through September 2012. The first F-16s were not expected to arrive in Iraq
until 2014.

“We’ve got to train their pilots and make sure that they’re up and
running and that we have an effective Iraqi Air Force,” President Barack
Obama said.

  Air National Guard 162nd Fighter Wing, Barack Obama, F-16 Block 52, Iraq Air Force, Iraqi Air Force pilots learning to fly F-16s in Tucson, Lockheed Martin, Maj. Gabe Johnson, Tucson