Trump's special envoy calls for integration of Peshmerga forces into Iraqi army

According to Kurdistan Press, Joshua Landis, a professor at the University of Oklahoma, responded to the statements of Tom Barrack, Donald Trump's special envoy, about the future of the Peshmerga forces, saying that Barrack's words show that he supports the integration of these forces into the Iraqi army.Barack recently said about the integration of the Peshmerga forces that it would be a “very good thing” if these forces were integrated into the Iraqi army and enjoyed the same rights and benefits as other Iraqi soldiers.

To explain this view, Trump’s special representative compared the situation of the Kurdish forces in Iraq with the Syrian Democratic Forces and considered the process of integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian army as a similar example.

In response to these statements, Landis wrote, referring to Barak’s position: “Trump’s special representative wants the integration of the Peshmerga forces into the Iraqi army.”

Barak’s statements came at a time when the issue of integrating the Peshmerga forces remains one of the important issues in relations between Erbil and Baghdad.The Peshmerga are recognized under the Iraqi constitution as the military forces of the Kurdistan Region, but their structure remains influenced by political and organizational affiliations with the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

In recent years, the Kurdistan Region has pursued a process of integrating and reorganizing the Peshmerga forces to bring their various branches under a single military structure under the supervision of the Ministry of Peshmerga. This process is intended to reduce the Peshmerga’s dependence on political parties and create a coherent military force within the region.

However, Barak’s recent statements raise the issue beyond the internal integration of the Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan Region.His comparison between the Peshmerga and the Syrian Democratic Forces shows that, in his view, the desired model is for the Kurdish armed forces to be included in the structure of the central armies of both countries.

Barak has emphasized that in an independent country there must be a single military structure, and that the Peshmerga forces should enjoy the same rights and benefits as other Iraqi army forces could be part of this process.

Landis’s response also focuses on this part of Barak’s speech, seeing it as a sign of Trump’s special envoy’s support for the full integration of the Peshmerga into the Iraqi army; a view that, if pursued in US policy, could take the discussion about the status of the Peshmerga forces and the security relationship between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad to a new level.