Congress urged increased security support for Kurdistan: Senator

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Congress has urged the administration of President Joe Biden to increase its security sector support for the Kurdistan Region, US Senator Chris Van Hollen told Rudaw.

“Congress urged them to take a look at more security arrangements with the Kurdistan Region, recognizing that it's important that we do so within the context of the federal Iraqi government, but the Kurdish region plays a very important role, it has come under attack,” Van Hollen said in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

The senator sits on the Committee on Foreign Relations as well as the appropriations committee. 

When the Kurdistan Region came under frequent missile and drone attacks, the US Congress last year included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) the provision of an anti-missile defense system to the Kurdistan Region. That act was signed into law by Biden last December, but the systems have not yet been provided.

“I have supported a greater role for the forces in the Kurdistan area, again, you know, under a unified federal command structure,” Van Hollen said, adding that it is “for the Biden administration to decide exactly how to fashion this military assistance” to Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces. 

When the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani was in Washington in April, Van Hollen was among the US lawmakers he met. Van Hollen said they discussed a range of issues in the US-Iraq relationship including disputes between Erbil and Baghdad. 

“We discussed lots of things, including the importance of, you know, building strong relationships between the central government, Iraq, and the Kurdish region. And the importance of working out these differences, right. There were differences over exactly how you pay the salaries of some of the government workers. There are also the ongoing issues regarding the oil resources. So, these are issues that really need to be tackled, and resolved once and for all,” he said.

He said that the United States has been trying to play a positive role in bringing Erbil and Baghdad together to resolve their problems that have “been going on for far too long.”

The senator also spoke of US relations with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria (Rojava) in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) and said they have “a very strong partnership” and “the US has an obligation to continue to support them.”

The US has around 900 troops in Syria leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted local Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS. America’s NATO ally Turkey alleges the SDF is the Syrian front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and used this justification to carry out multiple air and ground operations across the border. Ankara has been highly critical of Washington’s support for the SDF.

Van Hollen said Turkey has a legitimate interest in any self-defense within Turkey, “I mean, any incursions into Turkey, whether it be the PKK or otherwise,” but said the SDF is a distinct entity and “they have been a partner with the United States in the fight against ISIS and we need to maintain that partnership.”

“I have been very clear with the Biden administration that we need to make it absolutely clear that attacks by Turkey on the SDF are unacceptable and they undermine American national interests in the region,” he said. “I've gotten assurances from the Biden administration that they have repeatedly informed the Government of Turkey, President Erdogan that we strongly oppose Turkey’s targeting of the SDF.”