Iraq draws up plans if U.S. forces leave

[ProSense]

Iraq draws up plans if U.S. forces leave

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer
35 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's military is drawing up plans on how to cope if U.S.-led forces leave the country quickly, the defense minister said Monday.

The statement by Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi marked the first time a senior Iraqi official has spoken publicly about the possibility of a quick end to the U.S.-led mission.

It was unclear if the remarks were more than routine contingency planning.

"The army plans on the basis of a worst-case scenario so as not to allow any security vacuum," al-Obeidi said. "There are meetings with political leaders on how we can deal with a sudden pullout."

The White House is negotiating with Democratic leaders in Congress over a war-spending bill for Iraq. President Bush vetoed the first version because it set timetables for the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

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Iraq to spend 1.5 billion dollars on weapons

2 hours, 13 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's defence ministry will buy new weapons worth more than 1.5 billion dollars (1.11 billion euros), including helicopters and US rifles, the minister announced on Monday.

The purchases will be made possible by a 26 percent increase in the country's defence budget, to 4.1 billion dollars (three billion euros) for the current fiscal year.

"The Iraqi government has signed a contract with the American government to set up a foreign weapons sales office to buy weapons that Iraq needs," Defence Minister Abdel Qader Jassim Mohammed said at a Baghdad press conference.

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Mohammed is also looking to beef up the country's air force and navy with the purchase of 29 Soviet-designed M-17 helicopters, six reconnaissance planes, 10 patrol boats from Italy and 26 from the United States.

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Iraq is awash with Kalashnikovs looted from ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's defunct armed forces, smuggled from around the region by militants and imported by the United States to arm new Iraqi security units.

Many go missing from official stocks, but the new generation of US-made weapons will be issued to individual soldiers, whose photographs and biometric data will be recorded next to their guns' serial numbers to deter fraud.

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[Possumpoint]

1. Item 1

Stand on own two feet.

[ProSense]

2. How long before the

Iraqis drive the U.S. out of Iraq?