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Key House Republican pushing for military support to Iraqi Kurds fighting IS
A key House Republican is pushing the Obama administration to expand U.S. military support to Kurdish peshmerga fighters in the battle against the Islamic State, calling for Washington to begin channeling heavy weaponry directly to Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government.Rep. Ed Royce of California, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, introduced legislation Thursday that would give the White House “temporary” authority to ship American “anti-tank and anti-armor weapons, armored vehicles, long-range artillery” and other equipment directly to the Kurds. The legislation would give the president “three years” to provide such weapons without having to seek reapproval from Congress. It would represent a significant change in course from the current U.S. policy of allowing officials in the central government in Baghdad to determine what American equipment gets shipped to the Kurds in northern Iraq. His legislation’s introduction comes a day after a suicide car bomb exploded in front of the Kurdish government’s provincial council building in the northern city of Irbil — a lethal attack believed to have been carried out by Islamic State extremists. It also comes a day after the Obama administration signaled openness to providing more support to the peshmerga. On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told reporters that President Obama “has pledged to expand our efforts to support the Iraqi forces, including the Iraqi Kurdish forces.” It was not immediately clear whether the administration will embrace Mr. Royce’s call for providing arms directly to the Kurds Posted by: Pappy 2014-11-21 |
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