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Maintenance has long been an Achilles heel for the Iraqi security services, and they have been almost entirely dependent on the United States to keep their planes flying, the F-16s have been based at the Balad airfield, which has been regularly targeted with rockets and mortars by pro-Iranian militias. My view is that the F-16 program could be in serious trouble if the Iraqi government is unable or unwilling to fulfill its most basic international obligation to protect U.S. diplomats, troops, and contractors that theyve invited into their country.