Building Iraq's Air Force Will Take Time

Training planes at an air force base in Tikrit. 'Building the Iraqi air force is not simple,' said Iraqi Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Anwar Amin on Tuesday. Reuters

U.S. Help to Upgrade Iraqi Air Force Will Take Time -- Wall Street Journal

BAGHDAD—The White House is pointing to a proposed sale of F-16 fighter jets to Iraq as a sign of a deepening security partnership, though delivery of the aircraft is a few years away, and Iraq's fighter pilots are still learning to fly.

That means Iraq will be left with a gap in its defenses after the departure this month of the last U.S. forces stationed in the nation.

Iraqi Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Anwar Amin said Tuesday Iraq's purchase of the fighters, which are made by Lockheed Martin Corp., was a "huge project" that would mean greater security for Iraq.

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Update: Iraqi air force moves ahead with fighter squadron as U.S. exits -- Stars and Stripes

My Comment: Should Iraq be spared from its history of sectarian and religious conflict, I predict that it will be one of America's largest buyers of military equipment (building an air force alone will take years and billions of dollars to accomplish) .... and .... an indispensable political ally in the Middle East.