NEW YORK – A U.S. contractor in Iraq told WND the Iraqi Air Force has begun evacuations from Balad Air Force Base, where 200 American contractors were trapped by the al-Qaida-inspired jihadists who have seized control of two cities and are now threatening Baghdad.A contractor with Sallyport Global, who asked not to be named, told WND through a Skype instant message that he was transported from Balad to Baghdad and was communicating from a C-130 preparing to take off to Dubai.
He said 300 in total have been evacuated from Balad, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, and another 100 are still awaiting airlift. He said the Iraqi Air Force is trying to evacuate everyone by midnight local time.
WND previously reported Friday that private contractors who have recently returned to the U.S. from Iraq said their former colleagues effectively had been abandoned by the U.S. military and were fighting for their lives against an army of jihadists surrounding the base who belong to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.
The U.S. contractors were at Balad to help the Pentagon prepare the facilities for the delivery of the F-16 aircraft the Obama administration has agreed to provide the Iraqi government.
The surrounded Americans said they were under ISIS fire from small arms, AK47s and rocket propelled grenades, or RPGs.
Balad Iraq US contractors trapped "I am writing from ballad Iraq as a employee of sallyport, ksillc..there are approx 500 US citizens on balad air base north of Baghdad trapped..we are part of a little known F16 iraq support mission here...The company has reportedly for the last 3 days to fly us out, we are now all herded into a central location on base..and being told nothing..The clint lockheed martin, DoS and most women have already been evacuated days ago but we are all still here. I hope this message is received by someone that can break this as headline news to bring attention to the situation for us..we are all worried and in dire straight as last security Intel reports Isis elements around us.".
The company, Sallyport Global has reported on their website that their contractors have been evacuated to safety. http://www.mbakerintl.com/
quote
At this time all Sallyport employees operating in Iraq are operating at secure locations in the country or have been relocated to safe sites in the region. Our first priority is the safety and security of our personnel.
Individuals seeking additional information regarding their Sallyport employee family members can contact the Sallyport Hotline at (703) 676-3211.
At this time all Sallyport employees operating in Iraq are operating at secure locations in the country or have been relocated to safe sites in the region.
At this juncture in time, I doubt there is anything close to being a "secure location" in Iraq. Conventional wisdom being voiced by intel analysts this morning is that even "Baghdad's Green Zone is going down--just a matter of time".
I think we've seen what is coming --sometime in the not so distant past........
Wait for the death toll and the ensuing excuses of who knew what when. Probably all caused by an anti muslim movie on utube anyways, and what does it matter now.
Wait for the death toll and the ensuing excuses of who knew what when. Probably all caused by an anti muslim movie on utube anyways, and what does it matter now.
At this point why even bother asking the administration ?
Doesn't matter if you support them or not, they simply refuse to answer difficult questions directly or take responsibility for their actions.
[This message has been edited by User00013170 (edited 06-14-2014).]
I agree. I'm glad the Iraqis are evacuating them, since from reports the US isn't doing dick. I guess Obama didn't have enough Taliban to trade for that many Americans.
I agree. I'm glad the Iraqis are evacuating them, since from reports the US isn't doing dick. I guess Obama didn't have enough Taliban to trade for that many Americans.
/sarcasm ON
Obama has a lot on his plate, and is currently addressing even more critical issues that are important to our nations security. He has his best men on it, working out our options, he cant be everywhere at once can he?
At this juncture in time, I doubt there is anything close to being a "secure location" in Iraq. Conventional wisdom being voiced by intel analysts this morning is that even "Baghdad's Green Zone is going down--just a matter of time".
I think we've seen what is coming --sometime in the not so distant past........
Would that be Operation Frequent Wind, where the US military evacuated the remaining American civilians during the fall of Saigon?
Americans were being evacuated Thursday from a major Iraqi air base as Al Qaeda-aligned militants toppled cities in the country's north and threatened to advance toward Baghdad.
A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that Americans were being evacuated from a base in Balad, which had been one of the largest training missions in Iraq.
The three planeloads of Americans are mostly contractors and civilians. The State Department said Thursday that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is operating as usual.
But the evacuation means that the vital training mission at Balad, about an hour northwest of Baghdad, has been suspended indefinitely -- despite repeated administration statements that it would continue to support Iraq's military.
Regarding those assurances, one U.S. official clarified to Fox News: "At the same time, we are not going to do anything stupid."
The development signals the worsening security environment in the northern part of the country. One senior official told Fox News that the focus for evacuation at this point is on people outside of Baghdad.
Two senior intelligence sources, though, told Fox News there is serious concern about how to evacuate other Americans out of Iraq if the situation further deteriorates.
"We need places to land, we need safe and secure airfields," one source said, noting that the militants are "seizing airfields and they have surface-to-air missiles, which very clearly threatens our pilots and planes if we do go into evacuation mode."
Sources said "all western diplomats in Iraq are in trouble," and American allies are scrambling to put together an evacuation plan. Military officials said there are "not a lot of good options."
And we all know how serious Obama is in "not leaving anyone behind." Then, "what difference does it make" how they get out?
[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 06-14-2014).]
