As the Islamic State mounted its offensive in Iraq
in June and Iraqi forces fled, the Kurdish peshmerga occupied Kirkuk and
the surrounding oil rich area claiming that the move was to defend
Kirkuk from IS. However,
the Kurds are claiming the city and surrounding area as part of the
Kurdish Regional government and not of the central government controlled
areas as it was before the IS advance.
While western press reports concentrate on the threat of the Islamic
State and the battle against it the continuing conflict between the
Kurds and the central government has very much faded into the
background. While there is some military cooperation in the fight
against the Islamic State, the conflict between the Kurds and Baghdad
continues. For example, Baghdad has withheld budget payments to the KRG
needed to pay Kurdish government employees leaving a shortfall of
billions.
Another factor that is tipping the political balance in favor of the
Kurds is the flow of weapons from abroad to the Kurdish peshmerga.
Ironically among the first to
send weapons to the Kurds were the Iranians even though they have been a
strong supporter of the Shia-dominated central government. Apparently,
they did it through the central government but obviously made sure that
the Kurds got them. The US has been reluctant to directly provide arms
for the Kurds and have done so only to a limited extent.
The Kurds are complaining that the US is not providing the heavy weapons they need.
Karwan Zebari, director of U.S. congressional affairs for the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), told Fox News:
"To this point, we have only received light arms, nothing effective against ISIS militants. We need effective equipment to go on the offensive. We need to be going after them.”A US Defense Dept. official told Fox news: “The Department of Defense has not provided direct arms to the Kurds and has no plans to do so in the future."
Other countries have been less cautious about going through Baghdad.
Germany is planning to directly provide the Kurds with advanced weapons,
including anti-tank missiles. The UK announced that it has provided
arms directly to the Kurds. The US Defense Secretary Hagel announced
that seven countries have pledged to provide weapons and equipment to
Kurdistan including Canada. No doubt many countries hope to curry favor
with the Kurds so that they may have access to the rich oil resources of
Iraqi Kurdistan should it become independent or gains more control over
its natural resources.
Kurdish leaders have agreed to postpone plans for a proposed
referendum on independence. This may have been a result of US pressure
or perhaps it is simply a tactical move to concentrate on fighting the
Islamic State and gaining control of more territory in the near future. Fuad Hussein chief of staff for Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said:
“We now have a priority: to clean the area of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). ISIS must not remain our neighbour. When you have this priority, some other priorities will be delayed.”The Kurds are anxious that a new central government be formed in Baghdad since otherwise Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would stay on.
However they have four major demands including resolution of the status
of Kirkuk and the surrounding area. They also want the moratorium on
direct sales of Kurdish oil to be lifted for three months. Kurds would
be allowed to export up to 140,000 barrels a day. Subsequently there
would be negotiations for a permanent agreement on Kurdish exports of
oil. Finally the Iraqi central government must pay the blocked salaries
of KRG government employees. The Peshmerga forces would be recognized as
part of Iraqi national defense forces entitled to modern equipment and
weapons. The Kurds would be granted complete control of their own
airspace. If these demands are not met no doubt the Kurds will seek
complete independence for their region.
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