US Military Sends 3,000 MRAPs, Other Military Equipment to Kuwait in Preparation for Anti-ISIS Offensive

By Times of Israel, Associated Press

26 December 14

Military sending equipment, gear out of Afghanistan to Kuwait as likely spring mission against jihadists gathers pace

he US military has slowly been stockpiling equipment and gear coming out of the war in Afghanistan in a Kuwait depot, ultimately destined for Iraq ahead of a possible spring offensive against the Islamic State.

The warehouse in Kuwait’s Shuhaiba port houses over 3,000 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles and electronic gear, according to the news site US News.

“From June to December, we’ve worked a lot on moving items into Kuwait,” said US Air Force Maj. Gen. Rowayne “Wayne” Schatz, the director of operations and plans for US Transportation Command. “The army is holding the gear there, and it has room to hold it, as the mission fleshes out,” he told US News.

The US-led coalition is reportedly planning a major operation this spring aimed at helping Iraqi troops and Kurdish peshmerga forces retake land conquered by the Islamic State in a blitz that started in June.

According to the report, US military authorities are set to focus on wresting back Anbar province and the city of Mosul.

Earlier this month, the outgoing Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel signed the order for the first group of US troops to go to Iraq as part of the administration’s recent decision to deploy 1,500 more American forces to the country. The troops are to advise and train Iraqi forces.

President Barack Obama spoke with Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, reiterating to him the US commitment to train and assist the Iraqi military, provide weapons and equipment, and continue to launch airstrikes against the militants.

The top US commander for the mission in Iraq and Syria said it will take at least three years to build the capabilities of the Iraqi military.

Army Lt. Gen. James Terry, who is leading the US campaign to defeat Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, said the challenge is to get Iraqi units trained and back into the fight so they can plan operations to regain contested areas such as Mosul.

He said that while there has been progress in halting the militants’ charge across Iraq, “I think what we must do, especially inside of Iraq, is continue to build those (Iraqi) capabilities. I think you’re at least talking a minimum of three years.”

The Iraqi army wants to launch a counteroffensive to retake Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, and the US probably would help. While there have been some concerns that Iraq’s military may not be ready yet for such an ambitious operation, Hagel said last week that the US is working with senior Iraqi leaders on preparations.

“Part of the planning has to be how you generate force to do operations,” Terry told reporters. The question, he said, is “how do you get into a place where you can generate some capability, pull some units back so that you can make them better, and then now start to put those against operations down the road?”

He declined to say when a Mosul operation might be launched. There have been fewer details and more limited media access to US military operations in Iraq this time than during the eight years of war that ended in 2011. US officials say it’s because the military is there only to advise and assist the sovereign Iraqi government.

There are currently about 1,700 US troops in Iraq, and Obama has authorized up to 3,000. More than 1,000 US troops are expected to be deployed in the coming weeks to increase the effort to advise and assist Iraq units at the higher headquarters levels and also to conduct training at several sites around the country.

Terry offered an optimistic view of the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government’s progress in working more with the Sunni tribes.

The deep sectarian divide fueled the advances of the Islamic State militants across Iraq earlier this year as grievances led some to align with the extremists. US officials have stressed that ongoing coalition assistance hinges in part on whether the Iraqi government becomes more inclusive.

The US and Iraqi governments have proposed creating a national guard program that would arm and pay tribesmen to fight. Terry said that as the Iraqis conduct more combat operations in Sunni strongholds, such as Anbar, there will be more opportunities to bring tribal members into the fight.

He said the national guard effort is starting and he is optimistic the Iraqi government will approve the legislation needed for the program to move forward.