US sending more stuff to Iraq only to have it in the hands of Iranian militias

The US is stepping up its assistance to the Iraq, with plans to send 175 M1 Abrams tanks and scores of armored vehicles to an army that's hasn't been a trustworthy recipient of American aid.

And now Bloomberg is reporting that Iranian-backed Shi'ite sectarian militias are receiving equipment intended for the Iraqi military's sole use, with the likely complicity of officials in Iraq's security apparatus.

According to Eli Lake and Josh Rogin, US weapons are "winding up in the possession of the country’s Shiite militias." American policymakers are aware of this but have decided that the moral hazard of supplying an Iraqi army that in turn supplies Shi'ite militias pales in comparison to the dangers of another ISIS blitz. 

"One senior administration official told us that the U.S. government is aware of this, but is caught in a dilemma," Bloomerg reports. "The flawed Iraqi security forces are unable to fight Islamic State without the aid of the militias, who are often trained and sometimes commanded by officers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. And yet, if the U.S. stopped sending arms to the Iraqi military, things would get even worse, with IS overrunning more of the country and committing human-rights horrors on a broader scale. The risk of not aiding them was greater than the risk of aiding them, the official said, adding that this didn't mean the administration was unconcerned about the risks involved." 



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/american-weapons-are-ending-up-with-iranian-proxies-in-iraq-2015-1#ixzz3OHRxBwxY

So now, somebody please tell me- What is wrong with this picture?

well for one the last time the us planes dropped it off to the isis by mistake or was it?

Well last time that was one pallet of supplies that landed in ISIL controlled territory out of dozens or more that were dropped. It's actually not unusual to have that happen, consider the planes are traveling well over 100 miles an hour and 1000 feet at least above the terrain.

As to this, I find the title misleading. They are IRAQI Shiite militia, not Iranian. I'll grant you that Iran is a Shiite majority country, and many Iranian officers are supporting Iraq and advising the militias, but these people are still Iraqi, and still patriotic. They are a little more pragmatic about such situations in the Middle East than we are. Remember the saying "My enemy's enemy is my friend" is an Arabic Proverb that dates back at least 400 years before Christ.

I keyed off the Bloomberg line on the subject, and just went with it.  Anyone with the capability to change the title, I am not tied to it.

But..  and this is a big but.  There is no doubt that Iran has troops in this fight.  There is no doubt that 'volunteers' from Iran are on the frontlines fighting ISIS.  There is no doubt that Iran just pledged something like 14 billion dollars for the direct purpose of supporting the fight against ISIS.

I've no doubt that there are some Iraqi militias out there that are fighting for the return of territory back to Iraq.  There HAS to be some level of patriotism somewhere.  And, there's certainly motivation on the part of Shiites to protect holy sites in eastern Iraq.  (ISIS would blow them up in a heartbeat)  There have even been some reports of the Army being supported by 'tribesmen' and 'militias' in their victorious attacks on the running dog Sunni ISIS.  (BTW, I fully believe that it's the tribesmen and militias doing the fighting while the Army hangs out long enough to claim credit)

I will grant you all that.

The question comes down to at what ratios are the 'volunteers' for the militias Iraqi or Irani.  On the basis of motivation, history, effectiveness and equipage, I would suspect that the most fighting of the units are Iranian.  They are well trained, highly motivated, well paid and religiously inclined in this fight.

Given the wholesale cowardice shown by the Iraqi Army last June, I do not hold any illusion that they have suddenly become effective and grown a spine in 6 months.  You will note that the only general officer reportedly killed in the fighting so far was Iranian.  I have yet to see any senior Iraqi officer listed as having been killed in the fight with ISIS.  An indication to me of who is doing the fighting.

I could be 100% wrong.  The Kurds in a tribal manner have done well in attacking ISIS and holding them off of taking Kobane.  Different motivation.  And better training.  

And if I am wrong, I will step up and accept it.   In fact, I probably should just erase all of this and let it go.

Ahhh hell, I'll leave it.  Easier than editing it down.

kevin they are trained and have supposedly thebest technology  for things like thatnot to happen.o youknoe isreal has the technology  to fire  3 miles on aship and kill its intended  target on a crowded beech. this was shown on the history channel

You are correct Jayzee, but there is a big difference between the predictable ballistics of a projectile, and an object under a parachute very subject to the influence of the wind. There have been Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish militias all along. Their allegiance, generally speaking, has been to their spiritual leaders and not to the government. I see Iran as having a two fold motive in what they are doing. Number one, they hope to increase their influence in Iraq. They lost a good deal with the defeat of Maliki. Number two it's in their best interests to fight ISIL now since they are likely to be the next targets if Iraq falls.

your two fold part with iran iscorrect but were i disagree is the wind and airspeed should all be  calcuated before dropping  the cargo. it is no different then bombing a target years ago i agree  but not now with all the moder tech it shouldnot happen unless human error

Yes it is different, wind speed and direction can vary greatly at even slightly different altitudes. I have experienced this personally climbing high towers. Those variations have little, if any effect on a bomb falling at terminal speed, but can have a large effect on an object descending gently behind a parachute. Human error is always a factor as well. Humans are flying the plane, and humans are pushing the packages out the back. Who knows, it could have gotten hung up on something for a second. Keep in mind, in that particular drop was to people who were surrounded by ISIL at the time, they may not have had the luxury of dropping a safe distance away from the lines.

And honestly, even with low level helicopter drops being reported as having dropped their loads right in the middle of an ISIS formation, how could anyone tell the difference between militias, Kurds, tribesmen and ISIS?  You can't.

If we were resupplying American troops, the pilot would be in contact with the people receiving supplies and the people would pop smoke to identify their position.  Or, sometimes, they would be in direct radio contact to guide the pilot.

We don't have that ability when putting supplies in for people fighting ISIS.  From the air, they look so similar as to make the identification pretty impossible.  

I would like to mock the situation, but our guys and gals are doing the best they can to get it right.  And in the end, it really isn't that big of a negative impact if a couple of grenades end up in the wrong hands.  It's just one of those things that happen in war.

I agree with Kevin 100% It's so easy to assume when we are not there to notice the difference.

And we won't be, either-

if its so hard to be accurate as you say and its hard to tell good from bad do not do it and figure out another way so the right people get our weaponsand not thewrong ones to kill us with our weapons

Jayzee, the system works, not perfectly, but well enough. in reality, we are looking at less than 1% of the drops that ended up in the wrong hands. Like Cascadian said, a few grenades, some ammo and other supplies, no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

kevin i quess you could be right but it bothers mewe are helping the enemie indirectly as they kill innocent women and children

It's probably a good thing they aren't dropping army tanks then, huh? Nobody would be saying 'tank you', would they- They'd all be 'lagging' around-

maybe camels with 3 humps