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Nechirvan Barzani. Photo: Rudaw/Bilind T. Abdullah
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq still requires support of the US-led International Coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), Kurdistan Region’s President Nechirvan Barzani said on Wednesday. His statements contested the Iraqi Parliament’s “unilateral decision” to call for the expulsion of foreign troops from Iraq.
“We in the Kurdistan Region assert that we believe Iraq generally needs the support of the Coalition Forces to fight against Daesh terrorists,” President Barzani, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS, told reporters in a press conference following a meeting with top leaders of Kurdish parties.
The President’s comments were in response to a non-binding resolution voted on by Iraqi parliament last Sunday which asked the Iraqi government to have foreign troops expelled from Iraq, effectively ending Iraq’s membership in the US-led Global Coalition to defeat ISIS.
Out of 329 total seats in Iraq’s parliament, only 172 MPs attended the session. The large majority of MPs present represented Shiite blocs. Almost all Kurdish and Sunni MPs boycotted the session in tacit support for a continued Coalition presence in Iraq.
The president expressed concern that one sectarian group, Iraq’s Shiite political parties, made such a “consequential decision” on its own, asserting that the parliamentary decision didn't bode well for other Iraqis including Kurds.
Part of parliament’s justification for expelling foreign troops was the assertion that ISIS has been defeated in Iraq, so the Coalition forces are no longer necessary. However, the terrorist organization continues to engage in deadly operations against Iraqi forces, Coalition forces and civilians.
The Islamic State first swept across Northern and Central Iraq in 2014, capturing Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, and many other cities in a blitzkrieg operation. The fight was costly in blood and resources for Iraqis, and the Iraqi Foreign Ministry formally asked the UN for assistance in counter-ISIS operations. This led to the formation of the US-led Coalition.
The US military, which had withdrawn from Iraq in 2011, returned to the country in 2014 and has been there ever since. There are now 5,000 US troops stationed across Iraq to train, advise, and assist Iraqi forces in the fight against ISIS.
The bases which host these forces have in recent months been subject to rocket attacks conducted by Iran-backed Shiite militias, the latest of which killed an American contractor and injured several service members at Kirkuk’s K1 military base. This set off a chain of escalatory actions between the US and Iran, culminating in the drone strike assassination of Iran’s top general while he was visiting Baghdad.
The Coalition on Saturday announced the temporary suspension of its training and anti-ISIS operations in order to prioritize the defense of Coalition personnel from anticipated Iranian military action.
Mounting conflict between the United States and Iran on Iraqi territory has evidently distracted all parties from the anti-ISIS operations. Due to disputes between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government, and a lack of cooperation between Kurdish and Iraqi security forces, ISIS sleeper cells have been thriving in a 1000-kilometer swath of territory stretching from the Iran-Iraq border to the Syria-Iraq border.
President Barzani’s analysis of the continued need for an effective force to fight ISIS comes as attacks have been on the rise. Just in December, at least 8 Iraqi soldiers were killed due to ISIS attacks. In rural villages like Makhmur, villagers are left to fend for themselves against frequent ISIS incursions.
“From what we see in news, the security information we receive on a daily basis, we see that the operations of the terrorist forces in Iraq are increasing in a systematic manner. This is a cause of concern for the Kurdistan Region and all of Iraq,” stated the President.
President Barzani's remarks came after a meeting on Wednesday between the leadership of the Kurdistan Region's three governing bodies (the parliament, the ruling government led by the prime minister, and the presidency). The three governing bodies released a joint statement saying that the Kurdistan Region "seeks stability and peace and urges all parties to refrain from dragging the Kurdistan Region into the rivalries."
The statement further added, "The Kurdistan Region views the support of the International Coalition in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in confronting terror as a necessity, particularly since the terrorist group's movements and actions have resurged."
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