U.S. Taxpayers Spent Billions Training and Equipping Iraqi Soldiers(Defense News) The 320 American Troops at Al Asad air base in western Iraq have taken “regular” mortar fire from Islamic Jihadists for several weeks, Col. Steve Warren told reporters on Monday, while Warren insists that the attacks have been “wholly ineffective” and that no U.S. personnel have been impacted in any way–this was the first time the Pentagon acknowledged the 2,100 American Troops Obama sent back to Iraq have been in danger since deploying last year.
In addition to the Marines from a ‘Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force’ training units with Iraq’s 7th Army Division at Al Asad, there’s 170 American Troops from the Army’s 1st Infantry Division training another four Iraqi Army battalions near Taji, northwest of Baghdad–Both sites were major U.S. bases during the U.S. – Iraq war from 2003 until 2011 when Obama declared…
Obama: We Have Met Our Responsibility…Iraq is in a Position
to Shape Its Own Future
Flashback: Remember in December, 2011 when Obama claimed: “We’re leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq.”
The Besmaya Combat Training Center was transferred to the Iraqi Army subsequent to Obama’s withdrawal in 2011 and was intended for use as a training site for Iraq Army purchased U.S. M1A1 Abrams tanks.
Col Warren added that the U.S. is currently establishing two other sites to train a total of 9 Iraqi and 3 Kurdish battalions in Irbil, south of Baghdad.
While the last of the 3,100 U.S. Troops Obama has recommitted to Iraq for training and advising the Iraqi Army are arriving, new equipment is flowing into the country–Over the past two week, 250 U.S. made ‘Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles have been sent to Iraq: 225 to the Iraqi Security Forces and 25 to the government in Kurdistan, according to Central Command.
The cost to taxpayers of refurbishing the vehicles was $9,832,500–In December, the U.S. State Dept announced that Baghdad has requested 175 more M1A1 Abrams tanks and other vehicles at a cost of $2.4 Billion, together with 1,000 Humvees at a price tag of $579 Million.
The Pentagon continues to insist that American Troops will not participate in combat (though they have a right to self-defense) in Iraq against the genocidal ISIS Jihadists that are slaughtering Christians, beheading Americans and committing other wartime atrocities.
Related: ISIS: Come to Caliphate for the Beheadings–Stay for the Sunsets
H/T: Weasel Zippers
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