US secretly sends Hellfire missiles, drones to Iraq

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Despite the movement of missiles – 75 Hellfire missiles are being sent to Iraq alongside 10 ScanEagle surveillance drones – some experts ...

US sending missiles, drones to Iraq to battle al-Qaida

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US secretly sends Hellfire missiles, drones to Iraq

Published time: December 26, 2013 17:32

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US soldier walks around an inert Hellfire missile as he perform a pre-flight check on an MQ-1B Predator unmanned aircraft system (UAS) (AFP Photo)

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Al-Qaeda, Arms, Army, CIA, Clashes, Conflict, Drones, Military, Politics, Security, Terrorism, USA, Violence

In an attempt to beat back gains by Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, the United States is moving “dozens” of Hellfire missiles and surveillance drones into Iraq.
According to a report by The New York Times, the decision comes after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki requested help from US President Barack Obama during a meeting in Washington last month.
The situation in Iraq has become a serious concern over the last year, as insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria - Al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate - spread through western and northern parts of the country, as well as nearby Syria. More than 8,000 Iraqis have been killed in 2013. That figure includes three bombings that killed nearly 40 people on Christmas Day.
Despite the movement of missiles – 75 Hellfire missiles are being sent to Iraq alongside 10 ScanEagle surveillance drones – some experts believe the US response to be insufficient without the deployment of more powerful military weapons, such as armed drones. While Iraq’s foreign minister has suggested an American-run drone operation as a possibility, Maliki - who is likely running for a third term as prime minster - has yet to make such a request.
“We have not received a formal request for US-operated armed drones operating over Iraq, nor are we planning to divert armed I.S.R. over Iraq,” Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, told The New York Times.
According to Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the reconnaissance drones aren’t likely to turn the tide against the insurgents, considering their small range.
“The real requirement today is for a long-range, high-endurance armed drone capability,” Knights said. “There is one place in the world where Al-Qaeda can run a major affiliate without fear of a US drone or air attack, and that is in Iraq and Syria.”
For its part, the Obama administration has stated that the current shipment of military supplies will be helpful because Iraq has essentially used up its cache of missiles, has no real air presence, and has little surveillance capability.
Other plans to provide Iraq with supplies have also stalled in Congress, where a bill to lease and sell the country's Apache helicopter gunships to Baghdad is languishing among concern that Maliki would use them to bully his political rivals. In the absence of American action, Maliki has purchased MI-35 helicopters from Russia.
Since the departure of US forces in 2011, Al-Qaeda has been able to re-establish its presence in Iraq by feeding off of Sunni resentment towards Maliki’s Shiite government. Through its base in Syria, the insurgents are able to deploy nearly 40 suicide bombers a month against Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis unwilling to fall under their rule.
According to local police officer Ayad Shaker, it doesn’t help that the country’s military capabilities aren’t as strong as they should be.
“I fought Al-Qaeda,” he said. “I am sad today when I see them have the highest authority in Anbar, moving and working under the sun without deterrent.
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US secretly sends Hellfire missiles, drones to Iraq

U.S. policy in some ways is so strange because in Iraq we support the Shias, in Syria we are against them in being against Assad. Russia seems to have totally aligned with the Shias on the other hand because of the Sunni Chechen fighters in Chechnya and because of long term alliances with Assad and his father in Syria and a long time alliance and trading with Iran. To make more sense of the U.S. stance we support Majority rule. In other words we support what the majority of people want in a country. However, if at some point that  stance towards foreign nations goes against the ongoing survival of the U.S. that is also subject to change.

As usual the new Cold War is even stranger than the last one partly because people pretend it isn't really happening. So, when you have a de facto Cold War and everyone pretends that isn't what's happening you have a whole world living in denial of Nuclear Weapons. So, was the Cold War better because it was out in the open terrifying people every single day or is this better when people just take Prosac and live in complete denial of any real thing including nuclear weapons? 

Disneyland is great except that isn't the real world. Nuclear weapons and chemical weapons are real. If we don't deal with real things just like a live bear hidden in the closet it will eventually knaw it's way out and kill us. Reality is better because you at least stay alive with reality. Living in a fantasy only eventually brings confusion, terror and death. 

Sending drones for the Iraqis to use against Al Qaeda is in our national interests of keeping a stable democratic government in Iraq. I think if things continue to get worse even Russia will be okay (in the next 10 years or so) with us sending in drones against Al Qaeda in Northern Syria too. Time will tell. It all depends upon the following question: Which is worse for U.S. interests: Hezbollah or Al Qaeda in the long run and short run? And in there somewhere is how does the problem in Syria ever resolve itself in a way the world can live with long term?