Arm the Kurdistan Regional Government
As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to sponsor House Resolution 1654, which would authorize
the President of the United States to directly provide defense articles, defense services, and related training
to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), one of America?s most steadfast and loyal allies in the
Middle East.
Our Kurdish partners serve as the tip of the spear in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL), but are badly outgunned by the enemy. In June 2014, ISIL terrorists captured sophisticated
US-made weaponry and equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Overnight, ISIL became the most
well-equipped, well-funded terrorist organization on Earth. Conversely, the Kurdish Peshmerga Forces are
equipped with light weapons, very few armored vehicles, and virtually no specialized bomb-defusing
equipment or training.
Faced with an enemy that holds vastly superior US weaponry, as of April 2015 over 1,200 Peshmerga and
Kurdish security forces have been killed, with another 7,000 injured. Weapons and equipment designated
for the Peshmerga, but routed through Baghdad, have been delayed or have not reached their intended
destination. It is critical that the US, without delay, directly provide our close ally the weapons and
equipment it needs to effectively fight this brutal enemy.
Kurdistan has become a safe haven for over 1.6 million Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqis, two-thirds of
which are Christians, Yezidis, and other ethnic and religious minorities. The Peshmerga are the only force
protecting these refugees from certain genocide. Without military-grade nightvision, long-range armorpiercing
rockets, and hardened defensive positions, the nightly assaults by ISIL along a 650-mile front
threaten to break Peshmerga lines.
The US should also increase its humanitarian assistance to the KRG. The KRG now hosts over 1.6 million
refugees from Syria and displaced Iraqis, including some 900,000 Christians, Yezidis, and other religious and
ethnic minorities. However, the influx of refugees and IDPs has stretched the KRGs resources to its limits
and the government now struggles to meet their most basic needs. The UN has designated the humanitarian
crisis in Kurdistan a ?Level 3 Emergency?, its highest severity rating. As ISIL continues its reign of terror
with no immediate end in sight, I implore you to provide additional funds for humanitarian assistance.
As your constituent, I ask that you support our Kurdish allies by becoming a co-sponsor and approving the
bipartisan legislation H.Res. 1654, led by Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce and
Ranking Member Eliot Engel, which authorizes the provision of heavy equipment and weaponry directly to
the KRG. As our allies continue to serve bravely as our boots on the ground, we owe them the necessary
equipment to effectively combat our common enemy.
the President of the United States to directly provide defense articles, defense services, and related training
to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), one of America?s most steadfast and loyal allies in the
Middle East.
Our Kurdish partners serve as the tip of the spear in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL), but are badly outgunned by the enemy. In June 2014, ISIL terrorists captured sophisticated
US-made weaponry and equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Overnight, ISIL became the most
well-equipped, well-funded terrorist organization on Earth. Conversely, the Kurdish Peshmerga Forces are
equipped with light weapons, very few armored vehicles, and virtually no specialized bomb-defusing
equipment or training.
Faced with an enemy that holds vastly superior US weaponry, as of April 2015 over 1,200 Peshmerga and
Kurdish security forces have been killed, with another 7,000 injured. Weapons and equipment designated
for the Peshmerga, but routed through Baghdad, have been delayed or have not reached their intended
destination. It is critical that the US, without delay, directly provide our close ally the weapons and
equipment it needs to effectively fight this brutal enemy.
Kurdistan has become a safe haven for over 1.6 million Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqis, two-thirds of
which are Christians, Yezidis, and other ethnic and religious minorities. The Peshmerga are the only force
protecting these refugees from certain genocide. Without military-grade nightvision, long-range armorpiercing
rockets, and hardened defensive positions, the nightly assaults by ISIL along a 650-mile front
threaten to break Peshmerga lines.
The US should also increase its humanitarian assistance to the KRG. The KRG now hosts over 1.6 million
refugees from Syria and displaced Iraqis, including some 900,000 Christians, Yezidis, and other religious and
ethnic minorities. However, the influx of refugees and IDPs has stretched the KRGs resources to its limits
and the government now struggles to meet their most basic needs. The UN has designated the humanitarian
crisis in Kurdistan a ?Level 3 Emergency?, its highest severity rating. As ISIL continues its reign of terror
with no immediate end in sight, I implore you to provide additional funds for humanitarian assistance.
As your constituent, I ask that you support our Kurdish allies by becoming a co-sponsor and approving the
bipartisan legislation H.Res. 1654, led by Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce and
Ranking Member Eliot Engel, which authorizes the provision of heavy equipment and weaponry directly to
the KRG. As our allies continue to serve bravely as our boots on the ground, we owe them the necessary
equipment to effectively combat our common enemy.
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