Published: · Region: Middle East · Category: geopolitics

US Think Tank Push to Elevate Peshmerga Tests Iraq’s Fragile Power Balance

A new Washington report brands the Kurdish Peshmerga as one of America’s most important security partners in the Middle East and urges deeper US–Kurdistan Region military ties. The push to modernize and arm Kurdish forces could strengthen a key counterterror ally while straining Baghdad–Erbil relations and reshaping Iraq’s security architecture.

Washington’s policy debate over Iraq is tilting back toward the Kurds. A newly released report from the Middle East Institute in Washington describes the Peshmerga forces of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region as one of the United States’ most important security partners in the Middle East and calls for stronger security cooperation and a sustained effort to modernize and strengthen their capabilities. The study, titled "The Army of Kurdistan," argues that the Peshmerga are more than a local militia or a historical ally from the fight against the Islamic State group. It presents them as a central pillar of a long-term US posture in the region, implicitly suggesting that Washington should…

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MIDDLE EAST

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MIDDLE EAST

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MIDDLE EAST

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