The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 1109 War preparations
The current Iraqi armed forces consist of 7 armies, 5 armored divisions and 3 mechanized divisions.

Each armored division is equipped with an armored brigade and a mechanized brigade, and each mechanized division is equipped with an armored brigade and two or more mechanized brigades.

There are 10 army-level commands under the Iraqi Army Headquarters, which are responsible for administrative, logistics and front-line combat tasks.

整个伊拉克总兵力包括95万正规军、48万预备役部队，装备坦克5600辆、装甲车7500辆、火炮3800门、作战飞机1200架。此外伊拉克还有65万人的准军事部队！

Once mobilization is carried out, another 1000 million people's army can be mobilized!

During the Gulf War, Iraq's total population was 1892 million, but now Iraq's total population has reached 3000 million!
Having learned the lessons of the Gulf War, Saddam strengthened the construction of his air force and air defense forces, and also strengthened the construction of his navy.

Saddam has already understood that the army alone is not enough to resist the Americans. Without air superiority, no matter how powerful the tanks and armored vehicles are, they are just targets for the air force!

During the Gulf War, the coalition air force's indiscriminate bombing of Iraq pained Saddam to the core and soul.

Taking advantage of the cheapness of Russian weapons, Saddam introduced a large number of Russian weapons.

甚至连S300防空导弹系统都装备了6个营，6个营的S300防空导弹系统有24个发射单元、96套发射系统，1152枚导弹。

Together with other SAM air defense missiles, the Iraqi air defense forces are equipped with 12 battalion air defense missile systems with 2300 missiles.

Moreover, the radars of these air defense missile systems are also connected to the vehicle-mounted radars of other Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and large radars.

In addition, there are a large number of anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-aircraft guns and "Vanguard" air defense missiles.

海军方面，除了052型驱逐舰、054型护卫舰、022型导弹艇、022A型鱼雷艇外，伊拉克还专门购买了817型电子侦查船和084型扫雷艇、高速布雷艇。

Saddam made major adjustments to the deployment of troops, reducing the number of troops on the Iran-Iraq border and deploying more troops to the west and north.

The next step is to strengthen military training and exercises, especially training in mountain warfare and defensive operations, while strengthening military fortifications in the Kurdish mountainous areas.

In addition, the money can be used to purchase more weapons, ammunition, equipment and supplies.

Saddam knew very well that the situation was very dangerous and if the money was not spent, it would become reparations. At the same time, deposits in Swiss, Swedish and European banks were also transferred out to purchase weapons, equipment and supplies.

After all, if this money remains in Europe, once the war breaks out, given the nature of Europeans and Americans, they will inevitably freeze these funds.

Then Saddam went abroad to visit various Arab countries, emphasizing the friendship between Arab brothers and once again emphasizing that Iraq respects Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the leader of the Arab League, the leader of the Arab coalition forces, and the big brother of the Arab world.

Afterwards, Saddam went to Persia for a visit. This was Saddam's first visit to Persia since the two countries fell out, and it was also the first time that the leaders of the two countries visited each other. Saddam's visit to Persia was also regarded as an "ice-breaking trip" between Iran and Iraq!
During his visit to Persia, Saddam talked a lot about peace and development. He believed that Iran and Iraq were neighboring countries and should work together for development. Iran and Iran were neighbors and everyone should seek common ground while reserving differences and learn lessons from history.

It can be said that Saddam lowered his posture in preparation for the battle.

Saddam still had great confidence in his friend's intelligence system because the other party had demonstrated its intelligence capabilities during the Gulf War.

Compared to Saddam, Turkey was in a frenzy. The United States exempted Turkey from $80 billion in debt, and the United States also provided Turkey with a $200 billion interest-free loan.

This is undoubtedly enormous wealth!

Türkiye and the United States are allies in the NATO military group. In order to curb the expansion of the Soviet Union and control the main transportation routes between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the United States absorbed Türkiye into NATO.

As long as Türkiye joins NATO, it will be equivalent to locking the Soviet Black Sea Fleet in the Black Sea.

But Türkiye is actually in an awkward position. It is called an ally, but it is far inferior to American allies like the United Kingdom.

Turkey has always wanted to join the European Union, but it has been a long way off. Turkey does not have a strong industry, and its military strength is okay but not a military power.

What Türkiye is benefiting from now is its geographical advantage.

As for the continuous arrival of US dollars in Türkiye and entering Turkey’s military bases, this is not a big deal at all. On the contrary, it is also a major opportunity for Türkiye.

American soldiers are known for being rich.

Look, the first thing to develop near the US military bases is the red-light district.

The food, drink, and feces of the US military are all purchased locally in Türkiye every day. It is impossible for them to be shipped from other countries so far away.

By the end of December, the US military had as many as 12 troops stationed at military bases in Türkiye, making it the country with the largest number of US troops stationed overseas.

This includes not just the army, but also three air force bases!

The large-scale mobilization of the US military has also attracted the attention of the world.

The Pentagon's statement was made in response to possible changes in the war in Afghanistan.

But Saddam was increasingly certain that the United States was planning to launch a war against Iraq.

This made Saddam very angry, and what made Saddam even more angry was that the Kurds started causing trouble again.

Under such circumstances, Saddam was very decisive. He was a tough guy sent from heaven to Iraq and a ruthless man. He directly sent troops to suppress the rebellion.

The Americans are already building roads, and war might break out at any time.

We cannot allow the Kurds to remain as a potential threat now.

In order to trip up the Americans, Saddam sent another 10,000 people into Afghanistan through Persia to fight in Afghanistan and attack the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Panshan Group has invested more oil tankers and LNG ships to continuously transport Iraq's oil and natural gas.

Then, ships loaded with supplies, weapons, equipment and ammunition arrived at Iraqi ports one after another.

To this end, Panshan Group also opened several large arsenals!
We must transport as much arms as possible to Iraq before the Americans blockade the ports.

Of course there are also a lot of supplies.

Even when Iraq did not have enough money, Panshan Group did not lower the price, but allowed China Petroleum Group to buy several oil fields in Iraq at market price.

Chinese people in Iraq are gradually returning to China in batches to celebrate the New Year, or going to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait!

Not only Iraq is strengthening its military training, but Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria and other countries are also strengthening their military training and are ready to respond to emergencies at any time.

Under this tense world situation, even though the Israeli-Palestinian war has ended, the world oil price still remains at US$30 per barrel. Because of Venezuela, the international crude oil price even once rose to US$35 per barrel.

Under such circumstances, the economic development of Japan, South Korea and European countries showed obvious signs of weakness.

(End of this chapter)