National News

Iraq's vaunted fleet of F-16 fighter jets can no longer fly combat missions. In an exclusive investigation, Iraq Oil Report reveals a collapse in military capacity that highlights a broader degradation of the country's security relationship with the U.S. Only five of the 36 jets originally purchased are currently rated as safe to fly. One obvious problem is that F-16 maintenance remains dependent on the physical presence of a contractor, Lockheed Martin, which withdrew its staff from Iraq in January due to security risks stemming from elevated hostility between the U.S. and Iran. The upshot for the Iraqi Air Force: it has no guarantee it can keep its most advanced weapons in working order during volatile times when they are most likely to be needed. So why haven't Iraqi military leaders sounded an alarm already?

The problems with the F-16 program run deep. Balad Airbase, where the jets are housed, has become a major center of corruption in Iraq. In one scheme, Air Force officials are fabricating log books to inflate the reported number of training flights, in order to justify the ongoing supply of jet fuel. Only a fraction of the fuel is used, however, and the rest is being smuggled. Certain Iraqi military leaders are profiting directly from the dysfunction at Balad, and have strong incentives to cover up problems with the F-16 program. After the publication of Iraq Oil Report's investigation, a spokesperson for the Iraqi Joint Operations Command told Iraqi state media that "the jets are all in good condition," despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

U.S. contractor Sallyport Global Services also appears to be part of the problem. The company has a contract worth nearly $400 million per year to provide Balad Airbase with food, sleeping quarters, security, and fuel supplies, but it has failed to implement systems of basic accountability that would prevent the most egregious corruption, according to current and former Sallyport officials and Iraqi military officers familiar with the base. The lack of accountability appears to be the root of many other problems. One contractor at Balad said the network of corruption was not the result of an elaborate conspiracy, but rather the natural product of powerful actors realizing nobody has any incentive to stop them from stealing. "They're not working with each other," the contractor said. "They're just not working to expose each other, because they all know they are on the take. They are all cheating. So when one person sees someone cheating, they think, 'Well, why don't I get mine? Because what are you going to do — turn me in?'"

Read Iraq Oil Report's full investigation here.

The revelations come just days before Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is due to fly to Washington, D.C. As reported in this newsletter last week — and subsequently confirmed by the White House — Kadhimi is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 20, with the U.S.-Iraq security relationship at the top of the agenda.

Perhaps the biggest U.S. security priority in Iraq involves pushing back against Iran-backed paramilitary groups operating under the government's al-Hashid al-Shabi (Popular Mobilization) program. Kadhimi has made high-profile efforts to bring the Hashid to heel. But, as Shelly Kittleson writes for Foreign Policy, he faces an uphill struggle. After Kadhimi ordered an operation in June to arrest several members of Kataib Hezbollah — one of the most powerful Iran-backed groups — the group accused Kadhimi of "trying to impress the Americans" and quickly proved its impunity by securing the release of its members and releasing celebratory videos. More recently, Kadhimi has launched an effort to establish greater control over international border crossings, in an apparent effort to crack down on embezzelment schemes that reportedly enrich paramilitary groups. Iran and its proxies are not likely to give up their footholds without a fight.

Iran-backed paramilitary groups are suspected of perpetrating several attacks against U.S. interests in Iraq this week. On Friday, three rockets landed near a military base that houses U.S. forces at the Baghdad airport. A day earlier, three Katyusha rockets fell on Balad Airbase, according to the Security Media Cell of the Prime Minister's Office. Other recent attacks have targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and convoys near the Kuwait border and north of Baghdad carrying supplies for the U.S.-led coalition. None of the attacks have caused fatalities, but the increasing targeting of convoys could signal a shift in tactics by militant groups hostile to the international coalition’s presence in Iraq.

Interview of the Week

Ali al-Yasseri is the general secretary of Saraya al-Khorasani, a paramilitary group operating in the Hashid program. He spoke with al-Taghier TV about his group's role in Iraq, simultaneously conveying a stridently anti-American stance while also dismissing concerns about ties between Hashid groups and Iran.

Yasseri described the U.S. embassy in Baghdad as “a time bomb,” saying that its size and the presence of military forces stationed there mean it could be used to overthrow the Iraqi government. Yasseri seemed to claim credit for recent attacks on the embassy compound for Iraqi militants, while down-playing Iran’s role in such attacks:

I say this with all responsibility: absolutely, Iran has no connection to any operation against the American Embassy. Those [attacks] come from the depths of Iraqi pride, from the desire of honorable Iraqis to govern themselves, to have their country free of any foreign occupation.

Yasseri said that Iraqi militant groups coordinate with militants in other countries, including Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Yemen, in order to “exchange expertise,” but denied that this means Iraqi decision-making is dictated by foreign agendas.

Yasseri avoided direct criticism of Mustafa al-Kadhemi or the Iraqi government, saying that “resistance” leaders including Hadi al-Ameri have a “strong relationship” with Kadhemi.

Saraya al-Khorasani has been accused in the past of involvement in repression of domestic critics of the Hashid. In the militants’ view, anyone who opposes their unilateral, extra-governmental militant campaign against western targets is a traitor – a view which could justify violence against domestic critics. "No honorable person in Iraq can separate himself from the resistance," Yasseri said. "Any person who wants to separate from the resistance has a defect in his mental system."

Energy and Economic News

Baghdad and Erbil have been locked in negotiations over the conditions of a temporary deal to unlock federal financial transfers to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). While such talks have historically centered on oil, negotiators are seeking a breakthrough by shifting their focus to a potential compromise on long-standing disputes over border crossings. Several people involved in the negotiations told Iraq Oil Report about the tentative terms of the new deal. But that progress is now in doubt as the two sides have begun airing their resentments in public. “The Cabinet today discussed serious concerns over the fact that Baghdad has not paid Kurdistan’s share of the federal budget for three months,” KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Twitter. The following day, the federal Finance Ministry expressed “surprise” at the KRG’s position, arguing that Baghdad had "shown great flexibility in order to reach an agreement that serves the interests of the people of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ali Allawi called on the KRG "to fulfill its constitutional obligations and return to the negotiating table in the public interest."

Iraq will likely export more fuel to disaster-struck Lebanon, where an ammonium nitrate explosion at the Beirut port killed at least 178 people, injured thousands more, and damaged much of the city on Aug. 4. Three days later, a convoy of 22 trucks carrying 800,000 liters of Iraqi gas oil arrived in Lebanon via Syria. It was taken to the Zaharani power plant, where it will help generate electricity to ease crippling service cuts that have become ever more consequential in the current state of emergency. Lebanon's caretaker Minister of Energy Raymond Ghajar told Iraq Oil Report this week that he is expecting another donation of between 8 and 20 trucks of Iraqi gas oil. The two countries were in negotiations over fuel trade prior to the explosion. Ghajar said that crude was not likely to be part of any long-term trade deal, as Lebanon has had no working refining capacity for years. However, oil products export from Iraq to Lebanon is not off the table: Ghajar said that the two sides have until the end of the year to work out the conditions of a potential deal for oil products, which would be shipped to Lebanon from Basra.

Iran is eyeing the Kurdistan region as a closer trade partner. Iran’s consul general in Sulaimaniya told Rudaw last week that “we have completed the preliminary work” for two “free trade zones” between the KRG and Iran at the Parwezkhan and Bashmah border crossings, with budgets allocated and legal procedures completed.

Sign up

Sign up here to receive This Week in Iraq in your inbox.