The weapons are a part of $1.2 billion worth of training and equipment U.S. lawmakers authorized to be sent to the Iraqi military in their battle with ISIL. The Baghdad government, however, is turning some of those arms over to Shiite militias that are heavily influenced by Iran.
The cache of weapons and equipment the U.S. is set to send to Iraq includes more than 600 mortars; 1,200 anti-tank missile launchers; 43,000 M4 carbines; 45,000 body armor kits; and 250 mine-resistant vehicles.
While Washington is aware that some of these weapons ultimately end up in the hands of fighters who have killed American soldiers, administrators fear that without the help of the militia, the Iraqi military would be overrun by ISIL.
The U.S. hoped the Iraqi government under new Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi would be more vigilant against weapons transfers. However that hope faded fast as Iraq appointed a new interior minister, Mohammed al-Ghabban, who was a senior official in an organization U.S. officials suspected of attacking Sunni Iraqis for years.
Just last week, Senator John McCain traveled to Baghdad, where American and Iraqi officials informed him that Baghdad was, in fact, handing over U.S. weapons to Shiite militias connected to Iran.
“The Iranians are now, to a large degree, through the Shia militias, in the absence of a capable Iraqi military, doing most of the fighting against ISIS,” McCain said.
Likewise, American Ambassador Jim Jeffrey said that Iraq has been supplying Shiite militias with U.S. weapons for years.
White House spokesman Alistair Baskey, however, refuted assertions such as those by McCain and Jeffrey, saying Prime Minister Abadi is committed to prohibiting weapons transfers, and ensuring all militia are formally integrated into Iraqi security forces.
Despite the difficulty in tracking where U.S.-supplied weapons end up, as is required by law, Pentagon public affairs officer Commander Elissa Smith insists the U.S. can account for all of the equipment it has sent to Iraq.
And while U.S. law prohibits sending weapons to foreign militaries guilty of atrocities, such laws only apply to government forces — not the Shiite militias, which have been accused of ethnic cleansing in Sunni areas of Iraq.
