Military Aid to Arrive in Kurdistan, Marking Shift in German Policy

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The first tranche of German military aid to Kurdish forces arrives in Erbil today, the first time the government is supplying military aid to a conflict zone since the Second World War. 

An Antonov plane carrying the first round of supplies -- all non-lethal military goods – will travel from Leipzig to Baghdad for inspection, after which the cargo will arrive at Erbil International Airport.

The German-made gear will include 4,000 helmets, anti ballistic goggles, and body armor, advanced communication equipment, metal detectors, mine sweepers, equipment for disarming improvised explosive devices, night vision goggles, and binoculars, along with military design tents, field kitchens, and medical kits.  

The delivery is designed to outfit a brigade of 4,000 Peshmerga soldiers and follows an itemized list of requests from the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Subsequent tranches of lethal military goods will be delivered by the end of September, although the exact arrival dates have not yet been determined.

Armaments include 16,000 automatic rifles, 40 machine guns, more than 750 anti-tank weapons and missiles, flare guns and 10,000 hand grenades. Armored trucks, one fueling truck, and five personnel transport vehicles will arrive with the lethal goods. 

Whether the delivery will be decisive in the fight against Islamic State (IS/formerly ISIS) is unclear. But German officials are adamant it will play an important role in the offensive, complimenting military aid from other countries like the United States and France.

"First of all the Peshmerga need a way to destroy the armored vehicles ISIS has. Until now they haven't had sufficent firepower," said Alfred Simms-Protz, the German Consul General based in Erbil.

Asked whether the armaments could play a part in the wider war against ISIS in Syria, Simms-Protz made clear that Germany had obtained an "end-use certificate, whereby the KRG assumes that these weapons will remain in Kurdistan."

The German Foreign Ministry emphasizes that the military aid is merely one part of an effort to defeat ISIS and restore stability to Iraq, which also include humanitarian aid and support for the political process in Baghdad.

Much like the United States, Europe has drawn a red line at supplying troops on the ground.  However, the Daily Beast quoted a high ranking Peshmerga official as saying that American and German “forces are on the ground here,” specifically referring to a team spotted outside of the Zumar offensive earlier this week. German officials flatly deny that they are any special operations forces operating in Kurdistan.

“Any such engagement would be illegal,” Simms-Protz says, with a nod from a German military liaison officer stationed in Erbil. “There must be a decision by the German Parliament to send troops abroad.” The only exception is when military forces must act quickly to protect German civilians, but according to the Foreign Ministry, no such situation currently exists in Iraq. 
 
It is not clear that military intelligence would need such approval, however. The German government has publically announced that six soldiers from a non-combat unit are currently working in the Kurdistan Region.