Peshmerga General, U.S. military advisor discuss bilateral relations

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – General Issa Ozer, the Peshmerga Ministry’s Chief of Staff, on Monday met with Colonel Mike Gachero, senior military advisor at the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, according to a statement from the Peshmerga Ministry.

“Coordination, bilateral relations, the steps of the MOP reform process, the unification of Peshmerga forces and taking more consideration of training bases were discussed,” the statement read.

Another topic of their discussion was a memorandum of understanding between the Peshmerga Ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense. Both sides agreed to implement the memorandum.

The Peshmerga Ministry Chief of Staff stressed that it is committed to the ongoing reform and unification process of its forces.

The Peshmerga have long been criticized by international partners, viewing its faction-based allegiance as a foundational problem.

More than a thousand Kurdish troops were killed in the fight against ISIS over a tense three-year period beginning in the summer of 2014. While the terror group was pronounced territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, it has survived by setting up hideouts across the country, launching guerilla warfare and “hit-and-run” style attacks on Kurdish and Iraqi forces. 

The @KRG_MOPE Chief of Staff received the Head of the Security Cooperation Office at the @USCGERBIL, coordination, bilateral relations, the steps of the MOP reform process, the unification of #Peshmerga forces & taking more consideration of training bases were discussed. pic.twitter.com/vaHutgUQT9

— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) February 5, 2024

Editing by Dastan Muwaffaq