Congress threatens to withhold arms from Baghdad
Allegations that Shiite-majority militias allied with Iraq’s central government have used US military equipment against Kurds in the disputed Kirkuk province has sparked outrage among US lawmakers.
Congress is threatening to stop sending weapons to Baghdad after reports today that Iraqi forces and Iran-backed Shiite militias are shooting at US-friendly Kurdish forces in northern Iraq.
Iraqi federal troops moved overnight to take control of Kirkuk and its surrounding oil fields following last month’s disputed independence referendum. Kurdish peshmerga fighters have accused the Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) of using US-supplied Abrams tanks and Humvees in the offensive, sparking outrage among US lawmakers who have long worried about US equipment ending up in Iranian-friendly hands.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., issued a statement calling on Iraqi forces to "take immediate steps to de-escalate this volatile situation by ceasing their advances.”
“I am especially concerned by media reports that Iranian and Iranian-backed forces are part of the assault,” wrote McCain. “Make no mistake, there will be severe consequences if we continue to see American equipment misused in this way.”
