Secret Iraqi Deal Shows Problems in Arms OrdersPublished: April 13, 2008
Different day, same schieszenhoisier
BAGHDAD An $833 million Iraqi arms deal secretly negotiated with Serbia
has underscored Iraqs continuing problems equipping its armed forces, a
process that has long been plagued by corruption and inefficiency.
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, center, with Defense Minister Abdul Qadir
in February. Mr. Qadir has drawn criticism for his role in engineering an $833
million deal to buy military equipment from Serbia, a deal that was later
scaled back.
Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik, center, with Iraqi officers in March. He is the head
of Americas security advisory mission in Iraq.
The deal was also supported by Iraqs Office of the Commander in Chief, a
shadowy group of Shiite advisers to Mr. Maliki that American officials accused
last year of leading a purge of Sunni Iraqi Army commanders who had cracked
down on Shiite militia leaders.
The same group, which rejected suggestions that it bring in Western
advisers, has marginalized senior uniformed officers charged with procurement
decisions and kept American officials in the dark about Iraqi financing of arms
deals, according to high-ranking American officials familiar with its workings.
It struck me as bizarre, said a Western official with knowledge of the
security ministries, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not
want to be seen as criticizing people he was advising. You can only explain it
in two ways: a desire to avoid oversight and a desire to offer opportunities
for graft and corruption.
A high-ranking Iraqi government official who spoke on condition of anonymity,
for fear of reprisals against him and others in his office, said, We have no
confidence in the Iraqi contracting process.
I heard about it out of the blue, that the minister of defense took a
delegation to Serbia and came back and said that he had signed deals with the
Serbian prime minister, the official said. Why Serbia? Why not Ukraine? Why
not Russia? We just dont know.
American military officials did persuade Mr. Qadir to cancel the $200 million
purchase of 30 to 40 French-made Puma helicopters, arguing that they were
unsuited to Iraqs harsh climate. The minister also decided against buying
armored personnel carriers and Gazelle helicopters.
American and Iraqi military officers also questioned the wisdom of purchasing
tens of millions of dollars of nonmilitary crowd control gear batons, stun
guns and plexiglass shields usually used by police forces, and $76 million
worth of mortar systems, which are too imprecise to use against guerrillas. The
minister said he still intended to buy the riot control equipment, to handle
crowds of Shiite pilgrims, and mortar systems, because the insurgents have
them.
Critics of the deal also complained that the arms agreement thwarted the
standardization of the Iraqi Armys hodgepodge of war matériel, which includes
firearms from the United States, China, the Balkans, Pakistan and Russia; 150
types of land vehicles; and a United Nations panoply of aircraft.
By SOLOMON MOORE
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