| ...and not send a portion directly to the Kurds, as some Republican Congresscritters would prefer for obvious reasons. |
Joe Foreign Policy Whiz KidBiden
The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body...
has reportedly assured Iraqi Prime Minster Haider al-Abadi that any arms shipments to local forces will be passed through Baghdad.
According to a statement released Sunday by Abadi's media office, the US vice president discussed Iraq's latest political and security developments during a phone call with Abadi.
Abadi has reportedly expressed his concern over a US congressional provision to send arms directly to Sunni and Kurdish fighters, but Biden said the Baghdad- Washington agreement to respect Iraq's illusory sovereignty and unity was still in effect.
The measure in the House Republicans' defense authorization bill would distribute a quarter of the $715 million authorized to train and equip the Iraqi army outside the government's control to local groups. It is unclear if the provision would survive the months-long debate process.
Recent reports indicate the US is under pressure from coalition partners to broaden the campaign against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
in Iraq and Syria. A bill submitted by Republicans to the US Congress suggests directly arming Kurds and Sunni tribes and has been seriously criticized by some Iraqi Shiite politicians.
| Of course. Why split the boodle with those so clearly less deserving? |
In a statement on
Moqtada Tateral-Sadr
... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah...
's website Wednesday, the holy man said if the bill was approved he would reactivate his forces and target "US interests in Iraq and even abroad."
Sadr's Mahdi Army was a notoriously anti-US fighting force during the American-led occupation of Iraq starting in 2003.