Posted on 07/02/2014 12:29:19 AM PDT by Trapper6012
Russia may not have boots on the ground in Iraq—yet. But it will have them in the sky; Russian pilots could be flying over Iraq within days. While the Obama administration struggles to speed up delivery of U.S. military assistance to the government of Iraq, Vladimir Putin has already delivered not only fighter jets but also the pilots needed to fly them, diplomatic sources told The Daily Beast.
On Monday, Russian television trumpeted the arrival of the first five of 12 promised Sukhoi Su-25 combat fighter jets to the Iraqi government, saying it had also sent “trainers” to help the Iraqis use them. Gen. Anwar Hama Ameen, the commander of the Iraqi Air Force, told The New York Times the fighter jets would enter the battle against ISIS within a few days, after which the Russian trainers would leave Iraq. He said Iraq had plenty of pilots with “long experience” flying the Su-25. The Russian ambassador to Iraq also said Russian pilots would not fly missions inside Iraq.
Perhaps. But diplomatic sources told The Daily Beast that Russian pilots will fly the planes due to a lack of Iraqi pilots with the proper training. Neither Russia nor Iraq as explained how the Iraqi air force could possibly have pilots trained and ready to fly the Russian fighters. The Su-25 planes were used in the Iraq-Iran war but have not been employed in Iraq since at least 2002, when Iraq’s military was controlled by the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
“But they are really Russians”
LOL ! About as much as Americans are British and Canadians are American.
I wouldn’t put ANY Iraqi pilots in any of my jets if I were Russian...too risky they’d hand them over to the highest bidder. They cannot be trusted and Russia knows this. Not to mention too many of Iraq’s army are unwilling to fight once they actually face fire. They run...and as many in our military have said, who have worked along side them, they really are just looking for the paycheck and have little desire to do more than necessary to get that.
...”we absolutely need new leadership...it exists within the ranks of the U.S. military”....
Yes indeed.
Or Irish are Scots, or English are Welsh.
Odds, I’ll take Scots, Yelling Freedom for $1000.00
1k only?! I’m part Irish, the Republic kind.. but 1k won’t do.. Scots are ‘very savvy with money’ am told.
Putin won’t put rules of engagement on his military.
He also knows that baraq can’t be bothered right now.
He is too busy wrecking our country.
Amen, Odds!
I see Scots price it competitively. Cool. I need to sleep a bit. Good to see you again :)
Pleasure was mine, Odds!
We plant by the dark of the Moon, Odds. Wildfire!
The following video link shows three of the Iranian Su-25 arriving in Iraq.
Video of Iranian Su-25s in Iraq
The Su-25 with '56' on the nose is Iranian Su-25 serial 15-2456
56 in full Iranian marking at following link.
The Chinese are sending aid and some arms to the Iraqi government. China wants the oil.
Obama wants Russia to wrap this thing up, and knows that Russia will have Kiev in one manner or another by the middle of next year.
Very interesting...thanks Tommyjo!
China National Petroleum Corporation is the biggest foreign investor in the Iraqi oil industry....The C.N.P.C. field that is the farthest north, Al Ahdab, is located more than 110 miles ‘southeast’ of Baghdad.
Three other fields in which C.N.P.C. also operates — Rumaila, Halfaya and West Qurna 1 — are located farther south, near the Iraq-Iran border.
One Chinese state-owned energy company, Sinopec, does have a stake in an oil field in the north, but that field is in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, which is protected by formidable ethnic Kurdish militias that have vowed to defend their mountainous home region against ISIS.
Chinese interests in Iraq are not limited to the oil industry. Chinese companies have invested in a range of infrastructure projects in Iraq. China Youth Daily, a newspaper tied to the Communist Youth League, estimated that there are 15,000 Chinese citizens working in Iraq.
Waiting for a plane to be shot down and the Russian pilot decapitated by ISIS
The Iranians have announced the death of a military pilot in Iraq.
IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, did not provide details of how or when the pilot was killed but said he died defending holy places in the Iraqi city of Samarra, which is home to an important Shiite pilgrimage site.'
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