Were there Israeli soldiers secretly stationed in Iraq who participated in military operations against Iran? And how come American soldiers didn't notice anything? There is currently an intense discussion on the subject, ARD writes.
On the Arab TV channel "Al Arabiya" two Iraqi military experts got into a heated argument over who was the greater disgrace - Israel or Iraq. One is certain that Israelis were stationed in the Iraqi desert. The other opposes and claims that this is absurd.
Deployment under the radar of the American military?
If Israel has been conducting military operations in the Iraqi desert for months, how come and why has no one on the ground realized this, asks the German public media. The airspace over Iraq is controlled by radar systems, and the US supports the Iraqis in this regard. Since the Iraq war in 2003 and the subsequent fight against the “Islamic State” there have been American soldiers in the country. They are currently withdrawing, but they should have noticed any possible helicopters and other military movements.
Iraqi security expert Raad Hashem mentioned in a television interview two theories that have since been heard elsewhere. There are voices that say that the radar systems were turned off by the Americans. Hashem, for his part, advocates the opinion that they were attacked by militias. According to him, this is almost certain.
Radar systems were turned off
The fact is that radar systems for Iraqi airspace were turned off before the start of the war in Iran - writes the „New York Times". This publication, as well as the „Wall Street Journal" first revealed this month that Israel has secretly deployed military forces in the Iraqi desert: with runways for takeoff and landing, helicopters, elite units and medical teams - to be nearby if Israeli soldiers are injured in the attacks in Iran.
Other security experts say that Israel has been developing military activity in the Iraqi desert for years. So far, there has been no comment from the Israeli side, ARD points out - neither confirmation nor denial, but it is known that Israel has bases in various places or is trying to build such points, says journalist Majdi Al-Halabi, a specialist in Israeli affairs.
„The New York Times" wrote that while crossing the desert, a shepherd discovered the foreign soldiers and notified the authorities. A little later, his family found him dead in his burned-out car. The Iraqi military sent intelligence officers to the scene to verify the shepherd's information. There was a confrontation and violence, and one Iraqi soldier was killed.
What do the Iraqi military say?
The commander in charge of the area - Ali Ghazi Al-Hashemi - stood in front of one of the two alleged Israeli military bases in the desert and told the cameras of „Al Jazeera": „We searched the entire area and did not find any troops - no soldiers, no camp, no foreign military. Only the heroic Iraqi security forces are here„.
After the rains in the area, there are no longer any traces of the runway for take-off and landing, said security expert Ahmed al-Sharifi in a televised statement. He has no doubt that Israel had military bases in the Iraqi desert. The runway was 850 meters long. It was laid on the bottom of a dried-up lake. The place was surrounded by hills, making it difficult to spot.
Israel has the know-how and equipment to build a runway and use transport planes in just a few hours, ARD writes. They have the special ability to raise very little dust in order to remain unnoticed.
The Iraqi army needs better equipment
According to Al-Sharihi, the Iraqi army urgently needs new technical equipment such as drones to be able to control the vast desert. “Deploying soldiers in a desert with an area of 175,000 sq. km is very difficult - it requires a lot of personnel, and the administration and logistics are expensive."
"The bitter irony is that the Iraqi government is demanding that the Americans withdraw. "And the Iraqi army would not be able to fill the hole they would leave," he added.
The plans call for the withdrawal to be completed by September and the Iraqi government is under pressure - already lawmakers are accusing it of losing control of part of the territory. Iraqi media reports that the government has filed a complaint with the UN over the incident in the desert, in which a soldier was killed by foreign forces.