February 1: A Patriot for the Peshmerga
The US House of Representatives recently passed a budget bill that determines defense expenditures for 2024. The bill also allows for a defense system to be placed in Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKB) if the American Department of Defense deems it appropriate. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was accepted by 310 votes to 118 in the House of Representatives on December 14, and was accepted in the Senate the day before with 87 votes against 13.
According to Rudaw, comments were made to the bill to place a defense system in these regions due to the increasing attacks in Iraq and the IKB. The systems in question will be provided if necessary by the Pentagon to protect the Iraqi Peshmerga and IKB forces from UAV, UCAV, and missile attacks.
US officials will provide training to the Peshmerga and Iraqi Security Forces, and the bill requires the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs to develop a joint plan for the provision of air defense systems and training until February 1, 2024.
Pentagon Spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder reported that a total of 92 attacks have been carried out by Iranian-backed groups with unmanned aerial vehicles and rockets on US forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17.
Some experts argue that the air defense systems in question will not be given directly to the Kurdistan Region Administration or the Peshmerga to prevent the systems from being used in internal conflicts. The Pentagon had requested $14.54 billion from the 2023 budget for military operations abroad, including $475 million to fight ISIS in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and Syria.
The Erbil administration had called on the international community many times to provide an air defense system on the grounds that it endangered the lives of civilians. In June, the House Armed Services Committee passed an amendment prepared by Republican Congressman Don Bacon supporting the provision of air defense systems to the IDF.
The bill aims to provide protection against the attacks of Iranian missiles, rockets, and unmanned systems.
