Iraq seen as major arms buyer by 2020 (may switch from U.S. to Russia)

[No Elephants]

The Iraqi government is spending billions of dollars to restore the country's military power, largely destroyed under Saddam Hussein, but analysts believe arms purchases won't peak until 2020.


Published: Jan. 4, 2013 at 12:13 PM


BAGHDAD, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The Iraqi government is spending billions of dollars to restore the country's military power but analysts say arms purchases won't peak until 2020.

And Baghdad, angry about the slow delivery of U.S. weapons systems, may well switch the emphasis of its procurement program to Russia, the Czech Republic and possibly even China, to speed up amassing firepower for its military forces.

Oxford Analytica observed in a new assessment Wednesday that the United States, hitherto post-Saddam Hussein Iraq's main arms supplier, "will face stiffer international competition from Russian, Former Soviet Union, European and Asians arms vendors in coming years."

"Iraq is unlikely to represent a very large opportunity for defense sales until it has met more pressing spending commitments and increased the government's capacity to raise and spend larger investment budgets," Oxford Analytica observed in an assessment published Wednesday.

Oil-rich Iraq "will only become a very lucrative defense market after 2020, when it could be one of the top opportunities in the global defense sector."

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2013/01/04/Iraq-seen-as-major-arms-buyer-by-2020/UPI-91261357319593/#ixzz2HBYDJSxR



See, this is why it pays to bring our democracy to oil rich nations. They can then afford to buy arms from us. Almost as good as giving us their oil.

[Enthusiast]

1. Just wonderful.

Not!