3rd world leaders, tend to think that 1st world countries are powerful simply because of their stuff. So they think their power is in having some of that stuff. That you have to know how to use it and have the will to use it escapes them.
Actually, they don't have enough stuff, because it's very expensive and they can't afford it. Having round the clock intel from drones and satellites, on-call artillery fire and on-call CAS were essential for getting ground troops out of trouble while coalition forces were in Iraq. Without these elements, coalition casualties would have been far higher. Most of the equipment the Iraqis have, they acquired at cut-rate prices from the US. The problem is the gaps in their inventory - stuff we weren't prepared to sell for pennies on the dollar to them.
Iraq's mil budget is $6b - which, for a country fighting a major insurgency, is peanuts and pretty much just covers the cost of maintenance, salaries, ammo and fuel, and maintenance is probably being shortchanged. To make headway, they need drones, combat aircraft and significant amounts of training, which will cost tens of billions, especially if they plan to acquire modern jet fighters which cost $100m apiece (with spares and maintenance packages).
Bottom line is they dragged their feet on mil expenditures and are now paying the price. Iraq produces 1/3 as much oil as Saudi Arabia but has less than 1/10 the defense budget. And it's fighting a major insurgency. My guess, based on the region's traditions, is that Iraq's leaders are too busy depositing the profits from oil exports in numbered private Singaporean bank accounts to worry about defense. If things go south, they're going to Singapore.
Hagel is quickly making sure that our military soon has neither equipment, nor training, nor the will to use it.
We will have some trannies, though.