As the United States considers plans to withdraw troops from Iraq, Kurdish allies are sending a message: “Don’t forget us.”
“Now is not the time to reduce coalition forces in Iraq,” Treefa Aziz, the U.S. special representative for the Kurdistan Regional Government, told FOX News Digital.
“Extremist groups such as ISIS and armed militias continue to pose a serious threat to the people of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.”
The US has announced plans to reduce its “foothold” in Iraq and end the current mission of the Kurdish-inclusive coalition fighting ISIS, but how many of the 2,500 troops currently in Iraq will remain? He declined to say anything about it.
“Ten years ago, Kurdish peshmerga forces worked with the U.S. military to defeat ISIS, and today they continue to actively fight ISIS remnants to prevent a recurrence of terrorism," Aziz said. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is “a reliable security partner for the United States and we stand ready to continue to strengthen our cooperation.”
But now, if Baghdad seeks to force the United States out of Iraq, the United States may feel that it must honor its demands or risk creating new enemies in the Middle East. The KRG says it is “willing and able” to host U.S. coalition forces on its territory.
The current mission is scheduled to end by September 2025, and the plan is to maintain Iraqi forces supporting the 900 U.S. troops in Syria until at least 2026.
News of the plan, which could amount to a significant reduction in U.S. troops, is reminiscent of 2019, when former President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw from Syria, leaving the Kurds to abandon their long-time fighting partner. I felt defeated and left vulnerable. attack by Turkish troops.
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At the time, President Trump issued a warning to his longtime enemy, the Kurds, saying, “I told Turkey that if they take any action outside of what we consider humane, they will be severely destroyed.” “I told them they could suffer the wrath of the economy,” he said.
Syrian Kurdish security forces wait for the release of former detainees suspected of being members of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh on September 2, 2024. (Photo by Delil souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
The relationship between the United States and the Kurds, a brave, militant indigenous people whose quest for a formal state of their own has failed, spans decades.
When Turkey rejected the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi Kurds helped the US overthrow Saddam Hussein.
The Kurds have been fighting U.S. coalition forces since re-entering Iraq to fight ISIS in 2014, with the U.S. pledging arms and humanitarian aid.
The group faces attacks from terrorist groups from all directions. And as Iran steps up its encroachments on the Iraqi government, Baghdad is choking the KRG, officials say.
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“There are growing concerns about efforts to undermine Iraq’s federal system. The constitutional framework to ensure shared governance is being ignored,” one Kurdish official said.
“Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region continue to be suspended, placing a heavy economic burden. More than a year and a half later, there is still no prospect of resuming exports.”
The KRG has tried to cooperate with the Iraqi side toward a power-sharing agreement, but no real results have been achieved.
Supporters of the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality Democratic Party chant slogans during Newroz celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Emra Guler)
“Some of these actions appear to be in line with external influences rather than broader national interests,” the official said, referring to Iranian influence. “With the support of our allies, we believe these issues can be resolved through constructive dialogue and cooperation.”
The KRG is also calling on the US government to “honor its commitments” contained in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to “provide the KRG with a comprehensive air defense system.”
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The law requires the Department of Defense to submit and implement a plan to provide air defense for the Iraqi security forces and the Kurdistan Region by July 2024.
“As a staunch ally of the United States that is regularly targeted by extremist violence, the KRG needs assurances that it will be protected from all internal and external threats,” Aziz said.
Gen. Michael Kurilla, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee in March that ISIS-K, which launched horrific attacks in Moscow earlier this year, “remains capable and willing to attack U.S. and Western interests abroad. “I am doing so,” he said. It happens within just six months, with almost no warning. ”
