The U.S. military plans to leave behind thousands of trucks
and combat vehicles for the Iraq Army.
The Defense Department has approved a plan in which the
U.S. military would not withdraw from Iraq with much of the
equipment deployed thre since 2003, but would instead transfer the vehicles and
weaponry to the Iraq Army, officials said.
U.S. commanders and their Iraqi counterparts have been discussing the
transfer of U.S.-origin weaponry and vehicles, which will take place in stages, Middle East Newsline reported.
"We have discussed what our ability will be in the long run to leave
behind some additional equipment for them over time, so that they have the
same capabilities that we do, or very nearly," Maj. Gen. William Webster,
commander of Multinational Division, Baghdad, said.
Webster told a Pentagon briefing on Oct. 21 that the military would
draft a formal plan for the transfer of U.S. weaponry and platforms to the
Iraq Army. He said the United States has already provided a large amount of
surplus heavy weapons, light weapons, commercial trucks and military trucks
to Iraq.
"We're adding armor on to some of those vehicles now," Webster said. "I
know very much they'd like to have Humvees."
Officials said the amount or type of U.S. platforms transferred to the
Iraq Army has not yet been determined. They said the issue was being
discussed between senior Iraqi and U.S. officials.
For his part, Webster said he envisioned the transfer of Humvees,
trucks, communications and command and control systems to Iraq. The general
said the Iraq Army would probably not receive such advanced platforms as the
Stryker infantry fighting vehicle or M1A1 main battle tanks.
"I think [the U.S. equipment transfer to Iraq would be] more in the line
of trucks and command and control equipment, as opposed to heavy armor,"
Webster said.
The Iraqi-U.S. military discussions signaled Pentagon plans for a staged
U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq that would begin in 2006. Officials said
the Bush administration hoped to withdraw most of the current 160,000
soldiers from Iraq by 2007.
Officials said Iraq does not want to base its military on U.S.-origin
equipment. Instead, Baghdad has worked with the United States to ensure a
supply of Soviet-origin equipment from such countries as the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. Over the last week, the Iraq Army has received
the first of 77 T-72 tanks from Hungary.
"They really have asked us for the ability to get contracts with former
Eastern European nations to help them rebuild the fleet of former Soviet
equipment, for the most part, that they have," Webster said. "They're very
happy with their tanks and their BMPs and personnel carriers."
