The sales of weaponry and other kinds of war equipment are
big business for a range of American companies, and the US government is more
than happy to assist.
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of several pending arms
deals for Iraq. DSCA is the Pentagon office responsible for coordinating arms
agreements between American defense contractors and foreign buyers.
Iraq's Shopping List
Here's part of what
the US is getting ready to sell to Iraq right now:
* 175 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks;
* 15 Hercules tank recovery vehicles (you can't have a tank
without the tow truck);
* 55,000 rounds of main gun ammunition for the tanks (the
ammo needed to get the biggest bang for your bucks)
And the cost? Just under $3 billion. But earlier deals
included in July, General Dynamics $65.3 million contract to support the
existing Iraq M1A1 Abrams program. In October, the US approved the sale of $600
million in M1 tank ammunition to Iraq. There have also been sales of all sorts
of other weaponry, from $579 million worth of Humvees and $600 million in
howitzers and trucks to $700 million worth of Hellfire missiles. There are many
more examples. Business is good. The Iraq order should keep General Dynamics'
tank business running well into 2016.
The United States has already donated 250 Mine-Resistant
Ambush-Protected (MRAP) armoured vehicles to Iraq as well as $300 million in
weapons handed over free-of-charge by the Department of Defense in 2014. Congress
passed $1.2 billion to spend in future training and equipment for Iraq.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment