Congressional Proposal to Arm Kurds May Strain US Relations with Iraq

Experts claim that the proposed congressional amendment to the US defense authorization bill that would allow the United States to bypass Iraq’s central government and arm Iraqi Kurds directly may damage Washington’s relations with Baghdad.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The proposed congressional amendment to the US defense authorization bill that would allow the United States to bypass Iraq’s central government and arm Iraqi Kurds directly may damage Washington’s relations with Baghdad, experts told Sputnik.

“If the amendment survives in the final bill, which I doubt, it would poison bilateral relations with Iraq’s central government,” Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow James Phillips told Sputnik on Thursday.

On May 6, 2015, a bipartisan group of US Senators introduced new legislation that would allow the United States to provide the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) armed forces direct military training and weapons to fight the Islamic State terrorists in the region.

Phillips argued that the amendment is not likely to survive the legislative process because it involves defining the Kurdish and Sunni Arab militias as countries, implying dismembering Iraq.

At present, under the US “One Iraq” policy, arms are supplied directly to the Baghdad government. The Kurds have complained the Iraq government has not supplied them with sufficient amount of heavy weapons.

Former White House and US State Department Advisor Jeremiah O'Keeffe told Sputnik that the issue of arming the Kurds has long been problematic, because of the United States' relationship with Iraq as well as Turkey.

"We sympathize with them [Kurds], but geopolitically, we have been very hesitant to upset the regional balance,” O'Keeffe said.

The Kurds are Turkey's largest ethnic minority and comprise 25 percent of the population. The Kurds have strived for greater cultural and linguistic rights, as well as some form of autonomy.

The Kurdish people within Iraq widely support independence and currently enjoy a large degree of autonomy. Most of the Iraqi Kurds belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, while the Iraqi government is dominated by adherents of the Shia denomination.

“Initially, it [the Congressional amendment] may strain relations with Shiite Iraq, but is of no great consequence, when put in perspective regarding the threat of ISIS [ISIL],” O'Keeffe concluded.

On April 30, 2015, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said the Iraqi government has strongly opposed the proposed bill, and called on the US government to kill the legislation.

Five Senators have cosponsored the legislation, including Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham.

The US House of Representatives introduced similar legislation in March 2015, calling on the US President to directly provide equipment and training to the Kurdish forces.