Plan to Arm the Kurds stalled by Iraqi government

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in February that Canada would be providing the Kurds with lethal military equipment.

That still hasn’t happened and the Canadian government can’t say when such shipments might take place.

But at the Canadian Forces briefing Wednesday to provide an update on the progress of the Iraq war, details emerged about the holdup. Canadian officials said the arms have not been sent to the Kurds because the Iraqi government has yet to approve the shipment of such weapons.

The issue of arming the Kurds, who have been trained by Canadian special forces, is highly controversial. Kurdish leaders openly acknowledge their intent is to eventually create an independent state. They argue it is their right to break away from Iraq, pointing to Quebec’s attempts to leave Canada as an example. The arms are needed both to fight against ISIL and to defend an independent state, Kurdish leaders have said.

Strangely, other nations have received permission from the Iraqi government to provide weapons to the Kurds.

The U.S. military already has outfitted Kurdish units with mortars, anti-tank weapons and armoured personnel carriers.

The UK recently announced it had shipped heavy machine guns and ammunition.

In August, Germany resumed weapons shipments to the Kurds. Such shipments were halted in January after it emerged that some of the weapons Germany previously supplied to the Peshmerga had turned up on the black market.

Germany’s latest shipment included 1,500 rifles, 1 million rounds of ammunition, three armored vehicles and 100 MILAN guided missiles.

CAF Still Unclear when Lethal Support to Kurds will be Delivered

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch

As the U.S. and other coalition allies begin their deliveries of lethal military equipment to the Kurds, the Canadian Forces has still to figure out when it will do so.

America and its coalition partners have begun arming the Kurdish peshmerga with weapons such as armoured personnel carriers, mortars and anti-tank weapons, the U.S. publication, the Stars and Stripes newspaper reported.

Brig. Gen. John E. Novalis II, deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division, told the newspaper that the U.S.-led coalition is providing the peshmerga with a significant amount of new gear. “We have decided to give them about two U.S. Army brigades-worth of equipment – heavier stuff,” he said.

The deliveries were approved and coordinated with the Iraqi government. There is concern in Baghdad the Kurds will eventually use such weaponry to support an eventual bid for independence.

The ships include at least 150 vehicles, including 40 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored personnel carriers. Of those fifteen are equipped with mine-rollers.

More details:

-56 million rounds of ammunition

-5,000 anti-tank weapons

-45,000 rifles and machineguns

-700 mortar tubes

-80,000 mortar rounds

-3,600 gas masks

In an email to Defence Watch, the Canadian Forces noted that since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement on February 8 committing Canada to provide weapons to the Kurds, there have been no donations of lethal military equipment.

Planning is underway.

“Further details are not available at this time,” noted that response.

“The Government of Canada remains in close contact with the Iraqi authorities on the implementation of the new strategy, which will be carried out with the full consent of the Iraqi government,” the response added.