Iraqi Armed Forces/Air Force future and related "What if?"s.

.... er, well, they changed their mind on that one after people made them just to burn...

Though I could see some repaired/refurb'd MiG-29s in there, too - equipment that the Iraqis would be familiar with and require less training on (and could be gotten cheaply, I'd think.)

Our own Air Force has some Fulcrums they took off of Moldavia's hands, IINM. Of course, they'd need a little modification before being cleared for re-export.

Unfortunately, the way I see it the new Iraqi government won't last very long before being deposed. Kurdistan will emerge as independent; Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria will squabble over what's left. I don't know that an actual shooting war is that likely, but I wouldn't be surprised. More likely is further meddling by state-sponsored agents provocateur.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking of doing a Kurdish Army AH-64 Apache from the Monogram kit.

Stephen "FPilot" Bierce/IPMS #35922 {Sig Quotes Removed on Request}

Do you have hard info that leads to this conclusion or just an opinion. The United States Government will NOT allow a new and "democratic" government in Iraq to be deposed....trust me on that

I would. The US has never supported an independent Kurdistan for several reasons, one major one being that a NATO ally (Turkey) is absolutely opposed to it (as is Iran and some of the surrounsding "Stans." To allow the creation of an independent Kurdistan would so destabilize the region that it would become more predictable than it is/was (if you counf imagine that).

I wouldn't argue that one. Iraq, under any government, will continue to be a sourse of pleasure for any radical Muslim with a knife and/or a stick of dynamite.

Go for it. It'll never happen but, what the heck, build what you like the way you like!

My home page:

" In walks the village idiot and his face is all aglow; he's been up all night listening to Mohammad's radio" W. Zevon

One that seems certain is the Seeker, a pusher observation plane made in Queensland (also in use in Jordan). One of Ministers has been trumpeting the sale from te rooftops...gotta love election years.

There was a report out a few months back suggesting the IraqiAF would be getting mainly transport and observer aircraft, 2x C-130 Hercules, 6x UH-1 Hueys, 12x OV-10 Broncos and some others. I don't see them getting combat aircraft for at least another decade and then it'll probably be all-US gear and mostly short range stuff at that. They might get some BAe Hawks for training or even local air-defence.

Nick

I don't think the Sunnis would take very kindly to being cut off from all that oil revenue.

Well, someone better act fast - it's only an interim government to begin with. Elections are supposed to be held by January. Maybe you hadn't heard about that....

I don't think the Iraqis will be getting much in the way of offensive capability for a long time to come. The Iraqi forces will be trained and equipped primarily to maintain order in-country, with defense against outside incursions provided by, primarily, US forces.

There's a lot of things a lot of Iraqis aren't going to take kindly to. Forget the Sunnis for a moment--just getting the Shiites and Kurds to agree on the basic elements of constitutional rule will be an adventure all to itself. And the Sunnis have to sign on too.

This is an experiment in democracy. I didn't take very kindly to the election debacle in Florida, nor to most of what Bush et al have done during this term in office. In a democratic system, I'm entitled to be pissed, but I'm also obligated to live with the results and work within the system to change what I don't like, or just be pissed and do nothing. I am not entitled to collect my C4 and my AK-47 and go out and commit acts of assassination and sabotage, even if Bush, Cheney and all their aides are criminals on the take.

How unhappy the Sunnis are about whatever policy is promulgated by a real Iraqi government is interesting, but how they choose to react to advance their position is the measure of whether any real democracy can succeed in Iraq.

Mark Schynert

Heh. That's a candidate for 'Understatement of the Year'! ;-p

Very true, but there *is* an interim constitution that they've all bought off on so far. Whether it takes hold and/or how much it gets changed remains to be seen, of course.

Let's hope it works. There's a lot riding on it, and not just for the Iraqi people. All Americans of every political stripe should be in favor of a democratic Iraq.

Not to mention how the majority Shi'ites react to Sunni demands. We do indeed live in interesting times......

Considering that the Coalition forces do not even trust the Iraqi trainees with bullets, I'd be very surprised if the Iraqi forces got any kind of offensive capability as long as there are Coalition troops in hte aerea..

Andre