Posted on 08/26/2008 4:08:48 PM PDT by mdittmar
TAJI, Iraq– Soon a group of Iowa National Guardsmen will be leaving Iraq and leaving behind a legacy of training and friendship with their Iraqi Air Force partners.
“This day I would like to say goodbye to our dear friends who gave serious assistance and backup for our air force,” said Lt. Gen. Kamal, IqAF commander. “They did a major job to build our new Air Force.”
“We would like to thank their families, said Kamal. “Because they were so patient waiting for them to do their duties here. Our salute to their families to wish them all the best happiness and joy.”
(Excerpt) Read more at mnf-iraq.com ...
The huge, nagging question is have we been training the *combat* Iraqi air force in the United States? Some background:
After the fall of Saddam, Iranian agents systematically assassinated all the old Baathist pilots, one by one.
Some training was conducted for Iraqi air force officers at an air base in Alabama. This is known only because one went AWOL with his family, not wanting to return to Iraq.
The US has built several fully operational air bases in Iraq, and trained Iraqi ground and support personnel. If we have been training combat air force personnel, all they would need to have a fully operational air force is aircraft.
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