Printer-friendly VersionThe Kurdish Globe
A U.S. Army logistics team has entered Iraqi Kurdistan Region to train the Kurdish regional military known as the Peshmerga.
The group, headed by Col. Brown (first name not given), was received in the regional capital of Erbil by Jafaar Sheikh Mustafa, Kurdistan's Peshmerga Minister, reported "Xebat," a Kurdish daily belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), on Tuesday.
The forces, tasked with providing security for the upcoming parliamentary elections, are to be trained by American forces in the region. "We are so optimistic and ready to start training the local forces and supply them with necessary logistics in Kurdistan Region," Col. Brown noted upon arriving in the area.
The Peshmerga, considered the official security force of the Kurdish region, are known for their fierce, decades-long resistance to the former Saddam Hussein government.
One unified force
Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani--during a graduation ceremony for 1,200 Peshmerga members in Erbil city last week--said a well-armed and experienced force should always be at hand for Kurds to confront oppression they faced in the past. He emphasized that the force is not to be used to oppress others, but to have a unified force that protects the people of Kurdistan Region.
"I want to inform the people of Kurdistan that we have a proper plan to form a unified army for Kurdistan. I also want to declare that Mam Jalal, the current Iraqi President, has showed support for the plan and called on all PUK-controlled Peshmerga members to act by the orders of the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga and the Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces Command," Barzani stated.
The Kurdish President also unveiled a plan for Kurdistan to have one strong Peshmarga force, one police, and one Asayish (security service) in the near future. He hopes that the plan will be put into effect this year.