(ANTIWAR) The US Embassy to Iraq has announced that the US government has secured a $2.7 billion loan to the Iraqi government to pay for their ammunition and equipment maintenance during the ISIS war. The loan will have a term of eight and a half years at a 6.45% interest rate.
The deal is part of the US Foreign Military Finance (FMF). The same program provided Iraq with upwards of $4 billion during the previous US occupation of Iraq, though in that case the money was in grant form, and not to be paid back.
The State Department said it was keen to provide the loan guarantees to Iraq to ensure that their struggling economy, made all the more struggling by weak oil prices, doesn’t get in the way of their open-ended war against ISIS.
It remains to be seen, of course, if Iraq ever pays back the “loan,” and in all likelihood the money to repay it will come out of US foreign aid to Iraq over the years to come, which will likely continue to grow along with US involvement in the conflict.
This article (Broke U.S. Finds $2.7 Billion to Loan Iraq for War Equipment) by Jason Ditz, originally appeared on AntiWar.com and was used with permission. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.