Forbes adopts Nechirvan Barzani’s position: Arming the Peshmerga is a security gain for all of Iraq

Forbes adopts Nechirvan Barzani’s position: Arming the Peshmerga is a security gain for all of Iraq

2024-10-25 04:19

Shafaq News/ The American magazine “Forbes” stated that the criticisms and concerns about arming the Peshmerga forces are unfounded, stressing that the presence of well-armed Peshmerga can benefit Iraq, as possessing better weapons enhances the country’s security rather than undermining it.

After the American report, which was translated by Shafaq News Agency, referred to statements by Iraqi officials about their opposition to the weapons in the possession of the Peshmerga, especially after the United States delivered artillery pieces to them, it said that such criticisms, like those that were also issued regarding the Peshmerga’s possession of military equipment dating back to the Soviet era, are also exaggerated and baseless.

The report recalled the statement of the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, during a graduation ceremony for Peshmerga officers on October 17, where he said that “the Peshmerga do not pose a threat. The Peshmerga are defenders of Iraq, Kurdistan and humanity,” adding that the region expects “Iraq to fulfill its legal obligations to support and arm the Peshmerga” because this force is part of Iraq’s defenses.

The report pointed out that the President of the Region made this statement after criticism from some parties of Washington’s transfer of 105mm M119 howitzers to the Peshmerga forces last August, and the issuance of statements calling on Baghdad to confiscate these weapons, including from former Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, who called for these weapons to be confiscated by the Iraqi army.

“The main point that criticisms like Halbousi’s ignore is that the better-armed Peshmerga can enhance Iraq’s security rather than undermine it,” the report continued, recalling that a decade ago when ISIS swept through northern Iraq after the Iraqi army had disintegrated, ISIS could have taken control of Kirkuk, its oil fields and all the disputed areas, just as it did in Mosul.

The report noted that the United States began its air campaign against ISIS in August 2014 when the terrorists attacked the Kurdistan Region. It added that given the controversy over howitzers, it is somewhat ironic that the first U.S. airstrike against ISIS took place outside the Kurdish capital of Erbil, when U.S. F/A-18 aircraft destroyed terrorist artillery believed to have been left behind by the Iraqi army when it withdrew from Mosul, enabling ISIS to seize it and attempt to use it against the region.

The report said that the Peshmerga were sadly short of heavy weapons to defend their territory against ISIS, which was eventually defeated. The Peshmerga forces used old Soviet T-55 tanks that they had captured from Saddam Hussein’s forces in 2003.

The report continued by saying that the Peshmerga forces played a vital role, with decisive support from the US-led coalition forces, in order to achieve victory for Iraq over the “alleged ISIS caliphate,” noting that the Kurdish leadership had praised the cooperation between the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga in 2016 at the beginning of the Mosul battle, describing it as “historic.”

While the report mentioned the independence referendum organized by the Kurds, the pledge of Kurdish leaders to continue cooperation against ISIS with the Iraqi army, even if the Kurdistan Region separated from Iraq, and the strict steps taken by Baghdad directly against the region, the report addressed one of the bad incidents that occurred at the time, when the Peshmerga forces destroyed an American-made M-1 tank that was being used against them by Iranian-backed militias, which led to the tank’s manufacturer, General Dynamics, withdrawing crucial technical support from Iraq, which briefly weakened the Iraqi army’s firepower.

The report considered this incident to be a suitable example of the risks to Iraq’s security as a result of allowing certain groups to use heavy weapons, referring to the Popular Mobilization Forces, which have acquired a much larger arsenal than the Peshmerga, including drones, cruise missiles, and even short-range ballistic missiles.

In contrast, the report said that the Peshmerga continue to cooperate with the Iraqi army against ISIS in the disputed areas, where work is underway to close security gaps since 2017, which ISIS remnants have repeatedly exploited.

The report added that such cooperation provides another example of how the Peshmerga are a factor in Iraq’s stability and contribute to its security.

The report considered that the Peshmerga operating within joint brigades with the Iraqi army against ISIS in the disputed areas should have access to some of the most advanced equipment operated by the Iraqi army, such as tanks and artillery.

The report pointed to news that Iraq is putting the finishing touches on a deal with France to supply the Peshmerga forces with self-propelled howitzers, which are considered a more advanced and powerful weapon than anything currently in the Peshmerga arsenal.

The report said that Baghdad should not oppose or obstruct the United States from providing the Peshmerga with drones or any other equipment that would enhance the capabilities of the Kurdish forces against ISIS and enhance the security of the region against other threats such as drones and missiles, which could target, for example, the Khor Mor gas field.

The report continued that if Iraq is unable or unwilling to help the Peshmerga defend energy infrastructure, or provide the weapons necessary for Kurdistan to do so themselves, it should not prevent others from doing so.

The report concluded by saying that the United States’ continued willingness to cooperate with full transparency regarding the weapons it provides to Erbil should not provide Baghdad with any justification for halting future arms transfers required to confront specific threats, adding that the M-119 guns are not a game changer, so instead of condemning these transfers, Iraqi officials and politicians must realize that a well-armed Peshmerga does not conflict with the national interest, but is at the heart of it.

shafaq.com