How the Pentagon Accidentally Funnels Millions to Iraqi Militia Groups It’s Also Fighting
Leaked documents reveal that the defense contractor Sallyport enriched companies connected to Iranian-backed death squads.
by Zack Kopplin
March 25, 2021
Iraq’s Balad Air Base, home of the country’s F-16 program, was running out of fuel at the worst possible time. It was the spring of 2017 and the Iraqi military was preparing a final push to remove the Islamic State from Mosul, a major metropolis in the north of the country that had fallen to the extremists three years earlier. But fuel trucks, sent from Baghdad to the American military contractor that operated the base, Sallyport Global Services, were being ambushed. Without fuel, Balad’s fighter jets wouldn’t be able to provide air support to Iraqi soldiers battling the terrorist group.
For the coalition fighting ISIS, the fuel squeeze was a self-inflicted crisis.
Today, American influence in Iraq is felt largely through powerful defense contractors, like Sallyport, that act as unacknowledged boots on the ground. These companies have a vested interest in the continuation of the war and the stealth occupation. Sallyport’s leadership contains a roster of former military and intelligence brass, and it has won around $2 billion in Pentagon-awarded contracts at the Iraqi air base since 2014. American military contracts are ostensibly meant to help bring peace and democracy to Iraq—and security for the United States. In reality, Pentagon spending has led to more violence. The fuel crisis at Balad is a perfect example.
https://prospect.org/world/how-pentagon-accidentally-funnels-millions-to-iraqi-militias/
