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WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 23, 2008) - Iraq's fledgling navy is
gaining prominence within its country's security forces due to its
role in protecting the nation's oil infrastructure, a coalition
advisor said July 22.
British Royal Navy Capt. Paul Abraham, director of the Maritime
Strategic Transition Team and senior advisor to the Iraqi navy,
explained during a conference call with military bloggers that in
addition to quickly expanding their naval force, Iraqi marines and
sailors also are fast moving into a lead role in defending Iraq's
major ports and oil terminals from insurgent attack.
"The Iraqi navy's aim is to be able to guard their oil
infrastructure, their means of making money," Abraham said. "The 15
patrol boats, four patrol ships, and the two offshore support
vessels, which are the major elements of the navy, are all about
protecting the oil platforms and making sure they're secure from a
non-state aggressor."
Those 21 vessels, all more than 34 meters in length, will be
delivered in 2009 and 2010, along with 26 smaller craft. The new
vessels will add to the navy's existing fleet of five Chinese
"Predator" patrol boats and 10 riverine craft.
The Iraqi navy and its associated marine force moved into a
major security role following Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki's decision in the spring to confront militias operating
in Basra, southern Iraq's largest city. Since then, nearly two
battalions of marines were created and trained and ordered to seize
the southern Iraqi ports of Umm Qasr and Azerbia, Abraham said.
"Those are the two key ports in Iraq. And Umm Qasr has 90
percent of the imports and exports of the entire country, and was
under militia control," Abraham said. "They very successfully
conducted that action, and now the navy holds those ports."
Abraham said the navy now conducts 42 patrols per week -- a 300
percent increase in activity over the past year -- and contributes
to point and perimeter defense of offshore oil platforms, including
search-and-seizure operations.
Abraham gave a target of late 2010 or early 2011 for the Iraqis
to conduct their counterinsurgency mission independently of
coalition assistance. Building the strength and capabilities to
face a state aggressor could take until 2018 or later, he said.
Until that time, coalition naval forces will maintain an overwatch
role, Abraham said.
Bringing the Iraqi navy to its present state was a challenge,
Abraham admitted. Contracting setbacks and previously insufficient
funding and attention from Iraqi authorities kept it from growing
at pace, he said.
"Sometimes it's difficult to persuade the Iraqi Ministry of
Defense how important it is to build up their navy with all the
other challenges that they've got," Abraham said. "They are very
much land focused, because that's where most of the fight has
been."
The new navy was started in November 2004 with a decision to
transition from a coast guard force, Abraham explained.
"Real work didn't start until 2005, so we're three years into
this process of rebuilding from ground zero the Iraqi navy,"
Abraham added. "But we are [building] successfully, and they are
spending their money on developing a navy," he said.
A separate coast guard force exists to patrol Iraq's internal
waters and the Shatt al-Arab waterway between Iraq and Iran,
Abraham noted.
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