Secret U.S. Plan to Aid Iraq Hindered By Iraqi Opposition And U.S. Indifference

President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki walk from the Oval Office for a joint press availability in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

Secret U.S. Plan to Aid Iraq Fizzled Amid Mutual Distrust -- Wall Street Journal

The Obama's Administration Devoted Only a Handful of U.S. Specialists to the Task.

WASHINGTON—Amid growing signs of instability in Iraq, President Barack Obama authorized a secret plan late last year to aid Iraqi troops in their fight against Sunni extremists by sharing intelligence on the militants' desert encampments, but devoted only a handful of U.S. specialists to the task.

So few aircraft were dedicated to the program, which also faced restrictions by the Iraqis, that U.S. surveillance flights usually took place just once a month, said current and former U.S. officials briefed on the program.

Instead of providing Iraqis with real-time drone feeds and intercepted communications from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the militant group that has overrun parts of Iraq, U.S. intelligence specialists typically gave their Iraqi counterparts limited photographic images, reflecting U.S. concerns that more sensitive data would end up in Iranian hands, these officials said.

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My Comment: Even though U.S. officials knew 6 months ago that this crisis was about to escalate .... the push to prioritize aid to Iraq never materialized from the top ... from both Baghdad and Washington. Some people have some explaining to do .... both here and in Baghdad.