AUSTIN, Texas (USA) – The United States is handing over the first of 36 F-16 fighter jets to Iraq on Thursday, despite worries by the country’s large minority Kurds and Sunnis that the weapons could be used against them in future.
Lukman Faily, Iraq’s ambassador in Washington DC, arrived at plane maker Lockheed Martin’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas on Wednesday night to attend a ceremony Thursday at which the first of the F-16 Fighting Falcon jets will be formally delivered to Iraq. Baghdad is expected to take delivery of three to four jets by the end of this year.
“Arrived to Fort Worth, TX, for tomorrow's Iraq F16 Inauguration ceremony. Looking forward to it, it will be a day of celebration for Iraq,” Faily said on Twitter, shortly after landing in Texas.
Iraq’s estimated five million Kurds, governed by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, have been greatly concerned about the revival of a militarily strong Baghdad, after suffering decades of persecution and pogroms under the ousted dictator.
But Faily said that Iraq cannot afford to lack a strong air force to defend its borders.
“Not having any air force is not an option for us. Certainly not, when we can't defend our borders with Syria,” the ambassador said in a Twitter posting, in reply to questions by Rudaw.
Commenting on the KRG’s concerns about the F-16s, Faily described Iraq’s Kurds as “partners” in Iraq.
“Kurds are integral and key partners in the new Iraq. This is not rhetoric,” Faily said, noting that some senior Iraqi air force officials are Kurds.
Baghdad has signed multibillion-dollar arms deals with Russia, the United States, the Czech Republic and others to build a strong military power for what it calls “defending borders, space and defeating terrorism.”
The Iraqi military was devastated during the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam, and is in the process of rebuilding.
On many occasions, Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani has expressed deep concern over the rearming of Iraq, without first setting conditions over use of the new weapons.
In 2012, Barzani disclosed in a television interview that Baghdad has considered military solutions for its many serious rows with Erbil. He quoted an apparent conversation in which military commanders had urged Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for permission to attack Erbil.
“They told him (Maliki), ‘Sir, just give us the authority, and we would kick (the Kurds) out of Erbil,’” Barzani told the US-based Arabic news channel, Alhurra TV. He said Maliki had replied: “Wait until the arrival of the F-16.”
The Fighting Falcons will be stationed at the Balad airbase, 64 kilometers north of Baghdad, and less than 10 minutes flying time to Erbil.
According to Faily, Kurds are among pilots being trained for the F-16s.
“The first graduate F-16 pilot is an Iraqi Kurd. We have and need to work with each other to defend our borders from al-Qaeda and others,” he said.
Maliki’s Shiite-led Arab government has alienated both Iraq’s Kurds and Sunnis.
The Sunnis, who complain of being marginalized and are bitter about a war raging against government forces in Sunni-dominated Anbar province, have also expressed concerns about the new arms purchases, calling them unnecessary and a waste of public funds.
“Iraq does not need F-16 fighter jets, unless it would use them to strike against Anbar and other provinces,” the Xendan news website quoted Sunni MP Liqa Duri as saying. “Does Iraq need fighter jets to confront terrorism?” he asked.
Meanwhile, a group of Kurds in the United States has petitioned US President Barack Obama to “immediately cancel” the delivery of the F-16s to Iraq.
“Delivery of fighter jets to a government in Baghdad which has sided with Bashar al-Assad of Syria and Iranian regime will have dire consequences for the strategic national security interests of United States,” the online petition warned.
“In meantime, F-16s will encourage Baghdad to further oppress the Kurdish, Sunnis and Christians minorities in Iraq with potential massacre of these defenseless people,” it said.
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Link to petition: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/please-immediately-cancel-delivery-f-16s-fighter-jets-unpredictable-iraqi-government-baghdad/c4nm456v
