Congressmen call on Biden Administration to Support Kurdistan Region
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) –The ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran, through Tehran’s proxy militias, triggered by Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel, has caused a number of Congressmen, both Democrat and Republican, to voice their strong support for the Kurds.
In the Senate, the Democrats are a majority, and the most significant statement of Congressional support for the Kurdistan Region came from the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the other Democrats on the Committee.
They condemned, in the strongest terms, Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Monday on the Kurdistan Region, calling it “a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty” and affirming they “stand with our Iraqi and Kurdish partners against Iranian aggression.”
“This reckless missile strike by Iran was a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty. We mourn the deaths of Iraqi civilians and stand with our Iraqi and Kurdish partners against Iranian aggression.”
— Senate Foreign Relations Committee (@SFRCdems) January 16, 2024
- Chair @SenatorCardin on Iran’s missile strike in Erbil https://t.co/WWDewq2pUB
Rep. Michael Waltz (R, Florida) is a former Green Beret, who served in the George W. Bush administration in the Pentagon and then in the office of Vice President Dick Cheney.
Waltz is also a long time supporter of the Kurds. Last fall, he joined with two other Republican Congressmen, Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Joe Wilson (South Carolina), head of its Middle East subcommittee, in writing a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, urging him “to end the unacceptable treatment of Iraqi Kurds and the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government by Iran-aligned elements in Iraq.”
Read More: Key Congressmen Call on Biden to Protect KRG against Abuse from pro-Iran Groups
On Monday, following Tehran’s missile attack on Erbil, Waltz denounced Iran, tweeting, “Enough is enough. This will continue until America hits back in a way that hurts Iran directly.”
The Iranian Regime has taken responsibility for shooting ballistic missiles from Iran at our consulate and base.
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) January 15, 2024
Enough is enough. This will continue until America hits back in a way that hurts Iran directly. https://t.co/Subru6Horo
Kurdistan 24 also spoke with Rep. John Garamandi (D, California.), who serves on the House Armed Services Committee.
Garamandi identified the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as the central conflict in the Middle East, and he denounced “the Iranian proxies operating to support and to divert America’s attention from the Hamas situation.”
“Clearly, the Kurds have been a major and important element in the American efforts in Syria and Iraq,” he added. “They have been our allies, and we will continue to support them.”
Garamandi also called for continued U.S. support for Ukraine, denouncing the efforts of some Republicans to use it as leverage to force the Biden administration into a tougher position on America’s southern border with Mexico.
“We have no choice, but to fund Ukraine,” he affirmed.