The weapons will arrive as early as next week, the department spokesman Steve Warren said in a statement, adding that the US is also expediting the delivery of ammunition and other equipment in order to counter IS' increasing reliance on vehicle-borne bombs.
Over the last 30 days, the US also helped deliver coalition donations of 22 million rounds of small arms ammunition and 12,000 mortar rounds to the Iraqi army, Warren said.
Since Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's visit to Washington in April, the US has also delivered 250 mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles, 2,000 Hellfire missiles, 10,000 sets of body armor and helmets, and millions of rounds of ammunition, including small arms, tank artillery and anti-tank weapons.
The weapons are for the central government of Iraq to distribute to its army, as well as Kurdish and Sunni fighters, according to Warren.
The US has insisted that its strategy of bolstering a strong central government in Iraq, rather than sending arms directly to the Kurds and Sunnis, is the best course of action against IS.
Source:Xinhua- globaltimes.cn
22/5/15
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Iraqi forces lack will to fight - Ashton Carter...
ReplyDeleteUS Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has said the rout of Iraqi forces at the city of Ramadi showed they lacked the will to fight against Islamic State.
Mr Carter told CNN's State of the Union the Iraqis "vastly outnumbered" the IS forces but chose to withdraw.
The head of Iraq's defence and security committee said the comments were "unrealistic and baseless".
The Iraqi government has now deployed Shia militias to the area to try to halt the advance of IS.
On Saturday, the militiamen retook Husayba, east of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, with heavy fighting continuing in the area on Sunday.
'Very concerning'
The US has invested in a policy of training and arming the Iraqi forces since it withdrew its combat troops at the end of 2011.
But Iraqi forces have suffered a number of defeats at the hands of IS over the past year, leaving behind US-supplied materiel.......BBC
U.S. Defence Secretary questions Iraq's 'will to fight' after Ramadi defeat...
ReplyDeleteThe Islamic State group's takeover of Ramadi is stark evidence that Iraqi forces lack the "will to fight," Defence Secretary Ash Carter said, in the harshest assessment yet from a high-ranking Obama administration official of the U.S. effort to bolster Iraqi forces to retake their territory from extremist militants.
Iraqi soldiers "vastly outnumbered" their opposition in the capital of Anbar province but quickly withdrew from the city in Iraq's Sunni heartland, Carter said on CNN's "State of the Union." The interview aired on Sunday.
The Iraqis left behind large numbers of U.S.-supplied vehicles, including several tanks......AP......ctvnews.ca
24/5/15
Selon le Pentagone, les Irakiens n’ont pas montré de "volonté de se battre" pour Ramadi...
ReplyDeleteLe secrétaire d'État à la Défense américain, Ashton Carter, a déclaré, dimanche, que Ramadi était tombée aux mains des jihadistes de l'EI alors que les soldats irakiens, plus nombreux, s'étaient malgré tout retirés de la zone sans combattre.
Les États-Unis ont vertement critiqué l'armée irakienne. Le secrétaire d'État à la Défense américain, Ashton Carter, a déclaré, dimanche 24 mai, que celle-ci n'avait "pas montré de volonté de se battre" pour la ville de Ramadi (ouest) tombée il y a une semaine dans les mains de l’organisation de l’État islamique (EI).
"Ce qui est arrivé apparemment c'est que les forces irakiennes n'ont pas montré de volonté de se battre. (...) Nous avons un problème avec la volonté des Irakiens de combattre l'EI et de se défendre", a déclaré sur CNN le chef du Pentagone.
Les soldats irakiens "n'étaient pas en nombre insuffisant, ils dépassaient largement en nombre les forces opposées, et ils ne sont pas parvenus à se battre. Ils se sont retirés de la zone", a affirmé le ministre américain de la Défense.
"Nous pouvons leur fournir un entraînement, nous pouvons leur apporter des équipements, mais nous ne pouvons évidemment pas leur donner la volonté de se battre", a-t-il ajouté...........france24.com
24/5/15