Iraq again abandons major U.S. weapons platforms fleeing Ramadi

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Iraq again abandons major U.S. weapons platforms fleeing Ramadi

May 20th, 2015

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Special to WorldTribune.com

The Iraqi military abandoned more that 100 vehicles and weapons systems as it fled Ramadi, including several U.S.-origin platforms.

ISIL militants in Iraq. /AFP

Keeping the military vehicles out of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’s (ISIL’s) hands is vital, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said.

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Tanks, copters and cash: Bank robberies in Mosul make ISIL â€˜wealthiest terrorist franchise everâ€™, June 24, 2014
U.S. now confirms ISIL stole and has deployed surface-to-air missiles, Oct. 31, 2014]

Warren said it was “certainly preferable if [the abandoned tanks and vehicles] had been destroyed, in this case they were not. Warren added that if ISIL did obtain the equipment “we will destroy enemy vehicles as we see them,” according to a report by the Washington Examiner.

The cost of the U.S. weapons systems is a concern.

U.S. M-1 Abrams tanks cost over $4 million each while the 250 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles the U.S. gifted Iraq this year run at least $600,000 apiece. Stryker vehicles can range from $1 million to about $3 million.

The U.S. has also struggled to bring Iraqi trainees up to speed in the maintenance of the equipment. A number of the vehicles that were left behind in Ramadi had not been moved for months, according to the report.