US reportedly sending arms to Iraq's Kurds in battle against militants
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| Friday, August 8, 2014: Kurdish Peshmerga fighters walk towards the front line at the Khazer checkpoint outside of the city of Irbil in northern Iraq. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed) |
The Associated Press, citing senior U.S. officials, reported early Monday that the weapons were being provided to the Kurds. The officials did not specify which government agency is supplying the weapons, but one did say it is not the Pentagon. However, the officials did say that the Obama administration is close to approving a plan for the Pentagon to arm the Kurds.
A senior State Department official would only say that the Kurds are "getting arms from various sources. They are being rearmed."
Providing weapons to Kurdish forces is a reversal of U.S. policy, which had previously only allowed for selling arms directly to the Iraqi government. In recent days, the U.S. military has been helping facilitate weapons deliveries from the Iraqis to the Kurds, providing logistic assistance and transportation to the north.
The move to directly aid the Kurds underscores the level of U.S. concern about the Islamic State militants' gains in the north, and reflects the persistent administration view that the Iraqis must take the necessary steps to solve their own security problems.
Kurdish forces have proven to be the most effective fighters against the Islamic State (IS), the militant group formerly known as ISIS. On Sunday, with the help of U.S. airstrikes, Kurdish forces pushed the militants out of the northern Iraq villages of Makhmour and al-Gweir, some 27 miles from Irbil. President Obama authorized the airstrikes to protect U.S. interests and personnel in the region, including at facilities in Irbil, as well as Yazidi refugees fleeing militants.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, speaking to reporters in Sydney, said the airstrikes "have been very effective from all the reports that we've received on the ground." He declined to detail how or when the U.S. might expand its assistance to Iraq, or if military assessment teams currently in Baghdad would be moving to a more active role advising the Iraqi forces.
"We're going to continue to support the Iraqi security forces in every way that we can as they request assistance there," Hagel said during a press conference with Australian Defense Minister David Johnston. Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry are in Sydney for an annual meeting with Australian defense and diplomatic leaders.
At the same time, the administration is watching carefully as a political crisis brews in Baghdad.
Kerry urged the people of Iraq to remain calm amid the political and military upheaval and said there should be no use of force by political factions as Iraq struggles form a government. He said the people of Iraq have made clear their desire for change and that the country's new president is acting appropriately despite claims of malfeasance by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Maliki is resisting calls to step down and says he'll file a complaint against the president for not naming him prime minister.
Kerry noted that Maliki's Shia bloc has put forward three other candidates for the prime minister job and says the U.S. stands with the new president, Fouad Massoum.
Maliki has accused Massoum of violating the constitution because he has not yet named a prime minister from the country's largest parliamentary faction, missing a Sunday deadline.
"We believe that the government formation process is critical in terms of sustaining the stability and calm in Iraq," Kerry said. "And our hope is that Mr. Maliki will not stir those waters."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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