Iraq's Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi speaks during a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad March 31, 2015. Reuters/Ahmed Saad
Reuters: Exclusive: Iraq's leader to seek arms, with deferred payment, on U.S. visit
(Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister will seek President Barack Obama's help to acquire billions of dollars in drones and other U.S. arms to fight Islamic State during a U.S. visit next week but wants to defer payment for the purchases, a senior Iraqi official said.
Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi is grappling with an insurgency by militants from Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that emerged from the chaos in Iraq and neighboring Syria and seized much of northern and central Iraq last year.
He is also facing a cash crunch thanks to a plunge in oil prices that is ravaging Iraq's state finances. The government is projecting a budget deficit of roughly $21 billion this year.
Update #1: Iraq to ask US for billions of dollars in arms to fight Islamic State -- The Telegraph
Update #2: Iraq's leader to seek billions in military aid, with deferred payment, on U.S. visit -- Haaretz
WNU Editor: It appears that Iraq is running out of money .... Iraq’s fiscal woes (Jamal Doumani, Arab News).
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