IDF looks to buy US surplus weapons in Iraq
When the US withdraws from Iraq, shipping all the army's equipment back to the US would probably make no economic sense. So Israel has made a proposal: It will buy much of the equipment that the US has in Iraq. The Defense Ministry is in talks with the Pentagon about the possibility of buying American military equipment that will be retired following the US withdrawal from Iraq.If this goes through, I will bet that the Obama administration uses it to show how security cooperation between the US and Israel is better than ever.... Heh.
The advantage in purchasing used military equipment from the US is the price, which is dramatically lower than buying the same equipment new.
The IDF Ground Forces Command is looking to renew its aging fleet of Humvee combat vehicles with ones that the US will be phasing out as it reduces its troop numbers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Israel is also interested in acquiring surplus weapons and ammunition the US will no longer require following the withdrawals.
“It seems that in some cases it is cheaper to sell to other countries than to transport back to the US or bases in Europe,” one defense official said.
Other countries in the region may also try to buy some of the equipment, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which are both longtime customers of the US defense industries.
Labels: IDF, Iraq, military equipment, US-Israel relationship
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:18 PM
2 Comments:
Well, it looks like a good idea to me. The weapons are pretty good and, even if your regional neighbors buy some too, you'll be able to hack them, put your own developed stuff on them, and have the qualitative edge going forward. So unless you have the wherewithall to finance domestic manufacturing lines for this stuff (your companies for sure have the capability), this will save $$ on the basics and allow you to focus on financing your tailored upgrades. Don't worry. The only people who will buy ANY Obama claim re this move will be the Drone People, and you can't change their minds anyway. This will save the U.S. megabucks on transport and will allow the services to use the $$ you pay to get the next great thing (which they want very much).
1. Some of the equipment will be given/donated to the Iraqi Army outright
2. Some of the eqpt. will be sold to Iraq.
3. Some of the more advanced/higher level pieces of equipment cannot be sold to the Iraqis because they cannot afford it or lack the training to operate it.
4. Most importantly, equipment given or sold to the Iraqis runs the risk of being sold to, shared with, or stolen by the Iranians.
So I say that this Israeli proposal is a great idea--a win, win, win!
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