US defense budget welcomed by KRG, also temporarily halts F-35s for Turkey

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) - On Monday, President Trump signed into law the US defense budget for the 2019 fiscal year, which contains key provisions relevant to the Kurdistan Region, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as the law authorizing the Defense Department budget is known, this year is named in honor of Sen. John McCain (R, Arizona), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a long-time friend of the Kurds, now ill as he battles brain cancer.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representation in Washington welcomed the Act, which “recognizes the sacrifices and role of the Peshmerga forces.”

The NDAA includes a statement, reflecting the sense of Congress, “The United States should continue to provide operational sustainment, as appropriate, to the Ministry of Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq so that the Peshmerga forces can more effectively partner with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF),” the US, and other Coalition members in the fight against the Islamic State (IS).

It notes that the Peshmerga “have made, and continue to make, significant contributions” to the US-led campaign “to degrade, dismantle, and ultimately defeat” IS.

The Act also blocks the transfer of the latest US-fighter jet, the F-35, to Turkey for 90 days—until the Pentagon reports on several issues, including the risks posed by Ankara’s planned purchase of the S-400, a sophisticated Russian air defense system.

As Foreign Policy explained, the language “is watered down from its original form” and is “mostly symbolic.” However, it creates the possibility that Congress might, in new legislation within the next three months, “take more decisive action” and block the sale.

The NDAA also takes aim at Iranian-backed Shia militias in Iraq, which are really proxy forces of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC.)

Those militias dominate the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which have been incorporated into the ISF, increasing the likelihood that they have access to US training and equipment, even though the US has designated the IRGC, the Quds Force, and its proxies as terrorist organizations.

The NDAA calls on the Pentagon to report on “the extent to which any forces associated with the [IRGC] have been incorporated into the [ISF],” as well as any instances in which such forces “have acquired United States-provided equipment and training.”

The report is to be unclassified and should make for fascinating reading as it is well-known that such militias used US tanks in attacking the Peshmerga last October.

The Act also stipulates that none of the funds it authorizes can be used to support any group affiliated with the Quds Force.

The NDAA includes $850 million for Iraq, the ISF as well as the Peshmerga, and $300 million for Syria, where the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are the Coalition’s main partner in the fight against IS.

Trump signed the bill in Ft. Drum, in upstate New York, close on the border with Canada.

Ft. Drum is the home of the 10th Mountain Division, whose Headquarters has just returned from Iraq. The Commanding General of the 10th Mountain Division, Maj. Gen. Walter Piatt, frequently visited Erbil when his Headquarters was deployed to Iraq, and he met multiple times with the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, Masrour Barzani.

Last June, as Piatt paid yet another visit to Kurdistan, he spoke with Kurdistan 24 and had high praise for the Peshmerga.

“Peshmerga forces have that spirit of a fighter,” Piatt said. “You ask any Coalition member, they have great respect for the Peshmerga,” he affirmed.

Addressing the troops of the 10th Mountain Division before signing the NDAA, Trump told them,“You were the first conventional combat force to deploy after 9/11,” adding, “since then, no division in the Army has been deployed more times to Iraq and Afghanistan than you.”

Many dignitaries, including Vice-President Mike Pence and the Pentagon’s top brass, accompanied Trump to Ft. Drum. Kurds can only hope that at least some of them had the chance to speak with Piatt about his experiences during his last deployment in Iraq.

Editing by Nadia Riva