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US to Supply Kurds with Russian Arms via CIA
Townhall.com ^ | August 12, 2014 | Mike Shedlock

Posted on 08/12/2014 7:06:46 PM PDT by Kaslin

The story in Iraq gets more bizarre by the day. Kurdish territory in Iraq is the only pro-American territory left. Yet the US worries it will splinter off into Kuridistan. Apparently it's better to have a raging civil war as long as the country stays together in one theoretical piece.

This is where the story gets really bizarre. To avoid the appearance of the US giving arms to the Kurds, instead the US will give the Kurds Russian-made arms via the CIA.

Excuse me for asking, but what about sanctions on Russia?

While pondering that question, please consider US to directly arm Kurdish peshmerga forces in bid to thwart Isis offensive.

The Obama administration has announced it will arm the militia forces of Iraqi Kurdistan, to prevent the fall of the final bastion of pro-US territory in Iraq.

The weaponry is said to be light arms and ammunition, brokered not through the department of defense – which supplies Baghdad and its security forces with heavy weaponry – but the Central Intelligence Agency, which is better positioned to supply the Kurdish peshmerga with Russian-made guns like AK-47s that the US military does not use.

The CIA declined to comment.

The idea of arming the Kurds has been the subject of weeks of internal deliberation and official silence by Barack Obama’s foreign policy advisers. It is a fateful step in Iraq’s current crisis, one that risks facilitating the long-term disintegration of Iraq. Several administrations over decades have refrained from arming the peshmerga due to concerns about reprisals from Saddam Hussein and his successors. US officials have demurred for days when asked about the deliberations.

The danger is that arming the peshmerga will facilitate a permanent fragmentation of Iraq, something the Kurds consider a national aspiration. Several disputed and multi-ethnic cities in northern Iraq complicate any peaceful cleavage, as do major oil holdings in both Kurdish and contested territory. The Peshmerga used the June disintegration of Iraqi Army forces running from Isis as an opportunity to seize disputed areas like oil-rich Kirkuk.

Heaven forbid a stable pro-US country with oil reserves might come out of this. Who could possibly want that?


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs
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To: Kaslin
The Obama administration has announced it will arm the militia forces of Iraqi Kurdistan, to prevent the fall of the final bastion of pro-US territory in Iraq.

There was a time when this kinda event wasn't disclosed. I guess President Goofs-off-a-lot needs to look like he is doing something...

21 posted on 08/12/2014 7:58:55 PM PDT by OrioleFan (Republicans believe every day is July 4th, Democrats believe every day is April 15th.)
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To: depressed in 06
"Why not get the Russians to give Russian arms to the Kurds instead . . ."

They're probably more concerned with keeping Russians from helping Kurds or Iraqis than they are with saving anyone in Iraq from Caliph Obama's pals beheading them.

22 posted on 08/12/2014 8:01:25 PM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: realcleanguy

As well as arming our enemies the Obamanites give them weapons they have denied by royal edict to Americans.
So here they’re screwing us about two, maybe three different ways.


23 posted on 08/12/2014 8:16:45 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives.)
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To: OrioleFan

Or at least wasn’t disclosed ‘til we’d done it.


24 posted on 08/12/2014 8:17:22 PM PDT by ArmstedFragg (Hoaxey Dopey Changey)
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To: ArmstedFragg

Give them American arms so when they kick ISIS butt, they will get ammo that they can use.


25 posted on 08/12/2014 8:23:07 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (GM is dead and Al Queada is alive.)
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To: Kaslin
OK, let me get this straight.... We defeated Russian weapons and technology when we invaded Iraq... when we left, we gave the Iraqi's our superior weapons. Those weapons were eventually abandoned and recovered by the Isis forces.
Now the Isis is using that superior weapons against the Kurds, and WE ARE GIVING THEM RUSSIAN GUNS ... WTF
26 posted on 08/12/2014 8:29:50 PM PDT by Robe (Rome did not create a great empire by talking, they did it by killing all those who opposed them)
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To: Kaslin

You have to graduate from Harvard and Yale to understand what our betters are up to in DC.


27 posted on 08/12/2014 8:33:49 PM PDT by Rome2000
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To: Kaslin

One would think there might be a need for secrecy on missions like this...


28 posted on 08/12/2014 8:45:44 PM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: gaijin
sling attached to FRONT SIGHT POST..? >_<

You know the old saying about creating something that's idiot-proof and how the result will be better idiots? There ya go.

29 posted on 08/12/2014 8:48:32 PM PDT by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
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To: Kaslin
Very often the CIA supplies Russian-TYPE weapons to its friends. They are often sourced elsewhere, Serbia, Bulgaria, Rumania, for example. There are also huge stocks of captured Russian weapons that might really be Russian weapons.

Makes perfect sense. The CIA's friends can then use captured ammo. BTW, these weapons are most often NOT bought from governments but through your basic "Merchant of Death" international arms dealers through CIA deniable fronts. Some of these dealers even have catalogs ... and offer package deals that can outfit fighters with every bit of kit they might need, depending upon the budget. Fascinating business.

30 posted on 08/12/2014 8:55:42 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Program. Plan. Leader. Winner.)
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To: Kaslin

Shhhh, it’s a secret!

Seriesly, Russian arms tend to be cheap, durable, and easy to maintain. Might not be a bad choice under the circumstances.


31 posted on 08/12/2014 9:24:54 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows ("Your Daddy Was Drunk and Your Mama Was Lonely" - http://youtu.be/4HYy62qiOwA)
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To: Slings and Arrows

I hope you are right. I am loving the Kurds so much right now.


32 posted on 08/12/2014 9:33:46 PM PDT by MarMema (Run Ted Run)
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To: MarMema

Agreed on all counts.


33 posted on 08/12/2014 9:51:02 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows ("Your Daddy Was Drunk and Your Mama Was Lonely" - http://youtu.be/4HYy62qiOwA)
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To: Slings and Arrows
how can anyone not love these people?
34 posted on 08/12/2014 9:53:11 PM PDT by MarMema (Run Ted Run)
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To: Kaslin

Those weapons are made in many countries and some of those countries will no doubt want ISIS defeated.


35 posted on 08/12/2014 10:13:55 PM PDT by elhombrelibre (Against Obama. Against Putin. Pro-freedom. Pro-US Constitution.)
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To: Kenny Bunk

“BTW, these weapons are most often NOT bought from governments but through your basic “Merchant of Death” international arms dealers through CIA deniable fronts. “

I recall an outfit named Interarmco over in Alexandria, VA. Don’t know if it actually had any connection to the CIA but we kids wanted to believe it did.


36 posted on 08/12/2014 11:32:21 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: depressed in 06
Why not get the Russians to give Russian arms to the Kurds instead of making it look like the Russians are giving Russian arms to the Kurds.

That's not the point. You can drop a Kalashnikov into the mud, pick it up, and it will still fire. With murderous ammo. An AR-15 or M-16 won't, they are less prevalent, and ammo is cheaper.

Don't you want the Kurds to win, knowing who helped them and who did not? Russia is not going to be the manufacturer of these AK-47s.

Plus, it won't be as certain to the Rockies which guns are supplied by the US and which are coming through some other supplier, thus not totally wrecking the diplomatic fiction that we want to keep Iraq unified. (Don't forget, this ploy will work since the Kurds are still fighting the Turks for separation as well. M-4s and SAWs won't, politically.)

37 posted on 08/13/2014 2:01:29 AM PDT by imardmd1 (Fiat Lux)
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To: Kaslin
What's next?

The world's gone nuts I tell ya.

38 posted on 08/13/2014 2:26:43 AM PDT by McGruff ("We're Leaving Behind a Sovereign, Stable, and Self-Reliant Iraq" - Obama in 2011)
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To: Robe; Pelham
We actually equipped our Iraqis with Russian-style weapons.
(a) They already knew how to operate them, and
(b)There were tremendous stocks of them around.

FYI, the AK-47 fires the 7.62X39, which contrary to MSM ballistics is no ferocious "assault" round. It's very similar in performance to our medium-power .30-.30! The difference is the weapon is idiot-proof in the hands of Turd-Worlders and can put a whole lot of lead in the air in very short time somewhere close to the target. The newer AK 74 fires something like our 5.56 MM, only a bit smaller. Neither requires very much maintenance at all, in contrast to our rifles, which must be absolutely clean to function. Not easy in the desert.

The international arms brokerage business is tremendously lucrative and it certainly would be interesting to see exactly where and to whom the enormous profits from these CIA deals are going.

39 posted on 08/13/2014 4:31:30 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Program. Plan. Leader. Winner.)
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To: Kaslin
So we are going to supply the Kurds with light arms and ammunition. While I am sure that will help, it sounds like just enough help to keep them from being defeated in Kurdistan, but not enough to drive ISIS out of Northern Iraq. Why the continued refusal to give the Peshmerga heavy weaponry that would match all the good American stuff that ISIS captured from the Iraqis? Is it because we won't give up on the idea of a unified Iraq or because we are carrying Erdogan’s water to keep the Kurds from matching Turkey in South Eastern Turkey, perhaps?
40 posted on 08/13/2014 7:31:26 AM PDT by Truth29
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