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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Peshmerga units to remain substantially intact |
| 2004-06-13 |
| From Fridayâs paper; EFL Despite recent announcements from Iraqâs interim prime minister that militias would be absorbed into the national defense forces, the largest private army in Iraq will remain intact and under Kurdish command when the country takes its first steps to sovereignty this summer. The two major Kurdish parties will keep roughly half of their current peshmerga fighters, but reassign them to an internal security service that would maintain most of the same command structure as the current defense forces. Also, some news on the interim constitution... Qubad Talabany, the son of PUK leader Jalal Talabany, also said the transitional administrative law passed this spring has a provision that allows for internal security services to be controlled by the regional governments that share power in northern Iraqâs Kurdistan. The U.N. resolution passed this week makes no mention of the interim constitution. But in the last two days Iraqâs interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, and its president, Ghazi al-Yawar, said the new law would at least apply to the government between July 1 and January 2005, when Iraqis are to take part in elections for a national assembly. âThe Transitional Administrative Law is a piece of work we are really proud of,â Mr. al-Yawar told reporters in Washington yesterday. âIt is our road map toward a democratic society.â "Sistani doesnât own me." Mr. Bremerâs national security adviser, David Gompert, originally wanted all the peshmerga absorbed into the future national Iraqi army and other national institutions. The Kurds wanted Iraq to adopt a National Guard system under which their fighters would take orders from the regional Kurdish governors where they served. As a compromise, 30,000 peshmerga taken from the two major parties will either retire, be absorbed into the army, or given new job training, Mr.Talabany said. The remaining 30,000 peshmerga will be reassigned to a regional internal security service, where they will be mounted rangers, counterterrorism commandos, or part of a rapid reaction force. This regional army setup canât last, but itâs important leverage for the Kurds while the new constitution is being hammered out. |
| Posted by:someone |
| #2 This regional army setup canât last, All Western armies developed in this way and it was militarily very effective as well as ensuring the regions maintained an effective voice in relation to the central government. We still see the remnants of it in the UK regimental system for example. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2004-06-13 10:48:03 PM |
| #1 Goooooooooood. Loose confederations need the Nat'l Guard model. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-06-13 9:19:16 PM |