The Army’s mechanized division boasts more than 150 tanks and nearly as many infantry fighting vehicles. Although the tanks are currently mostly outdated T-72s and T-55s of Soviet design, Iraq is purchasing a brigade complement of the world’s best tank, the U. S. M1A1 Abrams, to equip armor formations still being generated. Iraq’s army is an increasingly professional force that models many U. S. Army practices. For example, Iraqi army trainees learn the Iraqi Soldier’s Creed modeled on the U. S. version, are learning deliberate planning processes, and are instituting a system of schools to educate officers and NCOs.

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The Iraqi Air Force, once formidable but a wreck ever since the Persian Gulf War of 1990–91, is still limited to performing basic reconnaissance, mobility and training missions. Its six squadrons are yet modestly equipped with three C-130E transports, a mixture of about twenty single and twin-engine fixed-wing aircraft, and more than thirty helicopters. Upgrades are on the way, however, as orders have been placed for 22 Mi-17/HIP helicopters, several dozen Bell 407 armed reconnaissance helicopters, six C-130J aircraft, and two dozen AT6-B light attack planes. Iraqi air leaders have even expressed interest in the F16 fighter, but employment of this high performance jet would take several years of maintenance, training, and support preparation.

Reflecting Iraq’s history of coups and the still-fragile security at home, a large domestic security apparatus has been created. The forces of the Ministry of the Interior, although not yet fully trained, actually outnumber Defense forces 380,000 to 220,000.

However, political fractures within Iraq are still real, as evidenced by the presence of one other armed force in the country, the Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Regional Government. These troops operate in the Kurdish-controlled north, and are mostly veterans of battles with former dictator Saddam’s troops. They number about 25,000 and lack heavy equipment, but they are a potent force whose relationship with the Iraqi Army is often tense. Leaders on all sides have so far agreed to pursue political solutions to their problems, and if this continues, expect the growing Iraqi military to set a new benchmark for professionalism and capability in the Middle East.

Submitted from Baghdad by Lt. Col. Bradley T. Gericke, PhD.

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