The United States and NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan this summer may have encouraged Iraq's government to consider weapons purchases from Turkey and Pakistan, according to an unclassified US military intelligence assessment.
Despite assurances by US officials that coalition troops would remain in Iraq (transitioning to an advising role by the end of this year), officials in Baghdad sought to obtain combat aircraft and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft from Ankara and Islamabad, a new Pentagon watchdog report revealed.
