asia down, europe in freefall, us to tank later., page-19

re: re:ardent, asia down, europe in freefall, us t You'll have to ask the russians that question, gaweb.

Total Soviet military aid to Iraq between 1958 and 1974 was estimated at the equivalent of US$1.6 billion; in 1975 alone such Soviet aid was estimated at US$1 billion. Soviet deliveries of military hardware of increasingly higher quality between 1976 and 1980 were estimated at US$5 billion. In 1977, for example, Iraq ordered the Ilyushin Il-76 long-range jet transport, the first such Soviet aircraft provided to a foreign state. Until 1980 nearly 1,200 Soviet and East European advisers, as well as 150 Cuban advisers, were in Iraq. Iraqi military personnel were also trained in the use of SAMs, and observers estimated that between 1958 and 1980, nearly 5,000 Iraqis received military training in the Soviet Union.

From 1972 to 1979, the percentage of Iraq's military equipment supplied by the Soviet Union declined from 95 to 63 percent. Even so, in 1987 the Soviet Union, having provided more than US$8 billion worth of weapons since 1980, was Iraq's most important arms supplier. In its 1987 annual study, Soviet Military Power, the United States Department of Defense stated that, while maintaining official neutrality in the IranIraq War, the Soviet Union had provided extensive military assistance to Iraq, and at the same time, continued its efforts to gain leverage on Iran. In early 1987, Moscow delivered a squadron of twenty-four MiG-29 Fulcrums to Baghdad. Considered the most advanced fighter in the Soviet arsenal, the MiG-29 previously had been provided only to Syria and India. The decision to export the MiG-29 to Iraq, also assured Iraq a more advantageous payment schedule than any offered by the West and it reflected Soviet support for one of its traditional allies in the Middle East. Caught in a financial crisis, Baghdad welcomed the low-interest loans Moscow extended for this equipment.

Although the Soviets might not receive payments for several years, the sale of military hardware remained a critical source of revenue for them, and they have tried to retain Iraq as a customer. In May 1987, for example, the Soviets provided Iraq with better financial terms in a successful effort to prevent Iraq from buying sixty French Mirage 2000 fighters for an estimated US$3 billion. An additional US$3 billion in sales of helicopters and radar equipment may also have been denied to the French, although it was not possible to determine whether the Soviets agreed to fulfill both requirements. In early 1988, Iraq owed the Soviet Union between US$8 billion and US$10 billion in military debts alone.

Check out the manufacturers of the equipment.

Iraqi Commander: Pres.Sadam Hussein

Iraqi Army:


5,500 Tanks
-1,600 T-55
-500 Type 59
-900 Type 62
-1,500 T-62
-1,000 T-72
1,000 Infantry Fighting Vehicles
1,100 Reconnaissance Vehicles
6,000 APC's
2,800 Towed Artillery
500 Self-Propelled Guns
200 Multiple-Rocket Launchers


Iraqi Air Force:


Bombers:
-20 Su-24
-8 Tu-22
-8 Tu-16
-4 H-6
Fighter-Bombers:
-70 Mig-23
-64 Mirage F-1
-45 Su-20
-30 Su-25
Fighters:
-40 J-6
-150 Mig-21
-40 Mirage F-1
-10 Mig-25
-24 Mig-29
60 Transport Aircraft
600 Hard Bunkers for Aircraft


Iraqi Air Defenses:


160 SA-2 Batteries
140 SA-3 Batteries
100 Roland Batteries
300 SA-6 & SA-8 Mobile SAMs
10,000 Anti-Aircraft Artillery

Ivan and Pierre....