To this end, the House Armed Forces Committee on Wednesday approved a draft law proposed by Dan Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, that allows providing air defenses to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Bacon told Middle East Eye that the plan has strong bipartisan advocacy and obligates the government to launch a program to train and equip the Peshmerga forces, as well as the Iraqi forces, against missile, drone, and rocket attacks from Iran.
According to Janathan Lord, an analyst of West Asian affairs at the Center for a New American Security, the Peshmerga forces are currently getting $20 million monthly budget from the Pentagon, and equipping them with air defenses may limit the supply of weapons, as Washington's other allies are also seeking weapons. According to the plan proposed by the House Armed Services Committee, $866 billion in the fiscal year 2024 budget would be for US military spending. This plan was approved by the Armed Forces Committee with 58 affirmative votes against 1 negative vote, and in the next stage should get finalization of the Congress.
The new American plan for Iraq's Kurdistan region comes as last month the Americans confirmed dispatch of HIMARS air defense systems to the Kurdish-controlled regions of northern Syria. Delivery of similar systems to Iraq's Kurdistan can follow specific aims, especially at a time Washington officials have repeatedly warned that in the years to come, the US will lose its air superiority against the Iran-led Axis of Resistance.
Iraq's strong-toned reaction
Since in the Iraqi parliament, where the resistance groups have strong presence and influence, pessimistic view to the American plans and interventions have considerably grown, with the unveiling of the new US program, many Iraqi politicians have strongly reacted.
“ The United States’ decision to arm the Peshmerga forces and sell them air defense weapons is considered a violation of international laws, and none of the internal groups have the right to interact with other countries directly and away from the knowledge and presence of the central government,” said member of parliament Jassem al-Mousawi, adding: "The Iraqi government must take action through diplomatic channels to stop this American move, because arming Kurdistan region is considered as an intervention in the internal affairs of Iraq. We are working to raise this issue in the relevant political institutions to achieve a unified position against this agreement between the United States and Kurdistan region".
Abbas al-Maliki, a member of State of Law parliamentary bloc, addressed the issue, saying that Washington’s communications with Erbil independent of the central government will deepen the gaps in the country.
“The United States has violated Iraqi sovereignty by agreeing to sell air defense weapons to Erbil. As it disregards the central government, this action will destroy the stability of the country. Washington is trying to target the independence of Iraq and its internal security.... Will Washington accept if Iraq decides to cooperate with the internal American groups? The United States should respect the sovereignty of nations and countries in accordance with the international laws and act through the central government of Iraq in their interactions with internal groups,” al-Maliki went on.
Aqil al-Taee, an Iraqi security and military expert commented on the agreement, saying that the US intends to strengthen the Peshmergas with air defenses to act against the central government.
“How come the US does not give Baghdad arms but it gives to Erbil? This American action is highly dangerous to Iraq and the government and the parliament should take a powerful stance against this Washington move,” al-Taee maintained.
The plan to arm the Kurds comes while the US at the peak of the battle against ISIS terrorist group declined to provide weapons to Baghdad, paving the way for seizure of cities by the terrorist group. Washington provided a number of outdated F-16 fighter jets only when the terrorists were losing the war in later 2015. The fighters were grounded at the outset of operation and did not serve the Iraqi anti-terror war. According to Iraqi officials, the fighters are still grounded due to the US decline to properly provide them with spare parts and because Iraqi experts are not trained to maintain them. The US military arranged the fighter jet provision program in a way that the Iraqi air force cannot operate the warplanes without American help and permission.
Eliminating the threats against Kurdistan region
More than interacting with the central government, the US has close ties with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) out of the plan to empower the Kurds and wrest political and security privileges from Baghdad. The deployment of air defenses comes as over the past two years, missile attacks targeted gas facilities and the US bases in the autonomous region, with Washington blaming them on resistance factions.
Last year, a rocket landed in the US consulate in Erbil, killing an American. Continuation of such attacks is a source of worry to the American officials. Also, in October last year, several Katyusha rockets struck Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaniyah, causing concerns about halt to gas supplies. At the time, the Iraqi officials believed that the US laid a plan to sell Iraqi gas to Israel via a deal with KRG.
Therefore, the US mulls deploying air defenses to Kurdistan region under the excuse of protecting diplomatic missions and energy facilities from such attacks.
On the other hand, KRG has been at loggerheads with the central government over political issues, budget, and oil exports. By doing so, the Americans seek to heighten the weight of the Kurds against Baghdad, a move that can trigger tensions between Erbil and Baghdad and strain Iraq's internal atmosphere. In recent years, serving Washington’s policies, Kurdish leaders have not allowed the army and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a voluntary forces founded in opposition to the ISIS, to enter the areas under the control of Erbil to deal with the separatist groups. They know the more the military balance is in Erbil's favor, the more powerful confrontation of the central government will be.
Countering Iran and resistance’s missile power
Having in mind that any US adventures in Iraq have Iran and resistance groups as their primary targets, the new plan is no exception. The Americans have always blamed Iran as a destabilizing force in Iraq, and are try to watch Iranian moves closely with the new military equipment to be sent to Erbil. In the past months, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out several missile attacks against the positions of Kurdish separatist groups in Kurdistan region as they plot destabilization of Iranian borders. Washington reacted to the attacks, claiming they are a violation of Iraq's territorial sovereignty.
It is noteworthy that Iran has advanced to a stage of missile and drone technology that even American-made air defenses cannot counter, something even American officials admit. Iranian military officials warn that if threats are posed to Iran from Kurdistan region, they will respond immediately and resolutely without any tolerance and reservation.
Also Iraqi resistance groups, seen as a serious threat to the American interests in Iraq, have made great advances in missile and drone areas and every now and then carry out attacks on the American positions. Having closed all of its bases in Iraq and concentrated its forces in Al-Anbar and Erbil, the US tries to build a shield for its bases against threats.
Though it is a low possibility the US deploys its advanced Patriot air defenses in Kurdistan region, it is predicted to deploy short-rang systems with advanced sensors and radars since this plan is essentially aimed against Iran and resistance groups and short-range systems can meet Washington’s need.
Though the US justifies such actions with claims of support to Iraq's
security, it triggers security challenges and will sink Iraq back into
instability and chaos.
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