Washington DC, USA (dfr.gov.krd) - A Kurdistan Regional Government delegation held meetings with the Department of Defense, congressmen and‎ senators in Washington DC on Thursday to discuss the latest developments in the fight against ISIL and the humanitarian crisis in Kurdistan.

In a key meeting with Lisa Kenna, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy, and her colleagues at the Department of Defense, Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations,  said, ‘The peshmerga are a competent, coherent force and they have retaken almost all the territory lost to the terrorists in the summer. The peshmerga are the boots on the ground and are winning thanks to the help of the US and coalition airstrikes‎. We need your support for the long term to turn the peshmerga into a national force.'

Since August, the US has conducted over 1,600 of airstrikes targeting the Islamic State in in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Minister Bakir also introduced Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the new KRG Representative to the United States, who thanked the Pentagon for its timely and critical assistance. Minister Bakir was in Washington ‎to introduce the Representative and to update the Administration and Congress on the political, humanitarian and security situation in Kurdistan and Iraq.
The KRG delegation repeated its request for heavy, advanced  weapons ‎as well as equipment to counter mines and unexploded devices, and training for the peshmerga.

The delegation also held a meeting with the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce. In December, Chairman Royce introduced a bill that would allow the US to directly arm and train Kurdish peshmerga forces. The Congressman told the delegation, ‘We are working to get the peshmerga the tools they need to defeat ISIL,' he said.
Although the Congressman’s bill has not been voted on, Congress has passed other measures to bring defence equipment to the peshmerga, including the Iraq Train and Equip Fund which passed as part of the National Defence Authorisation Act.

Mr Bakir and Ms Abdul Rahman also talked with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and ‎Congressman Adam Kinzinger, both of whom are on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

At the Senate, the KRG delegation‎ spoke to Jim Inhofe,  senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who also supports arming and training the peshmerga. 'The Kurds in Iraq have proven themselves to be fierce fighters in combatting ISIL,' he said. 'Providing them with the necessary weapons and equipment will be key to enabling them to successfully defeat this well-funded and organised terrorist organisation.'

In all its meetings, the KRG delegation also outlined the severe winter conditions now facing the internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees from Syria in Kurdistan and the particular targeting of ethnic and religious minorities by ISIL. They thanked America for its contribution towards the relief effort and asked that it continue to do so.

Minister Bakir said, 'We are pleased to have so many friends who support the development of the  KRG and have shown solidarity and support in the fight against ISIL as well as support for the KRG's efforts to help the IDPs and refugees.'

There are about 2 million refugees and IDPs, stretching Kurdistan's services to the limit. These issues were highlighted in talks with Senators Ron Johnson and Pat Roberts and Congressmen Adam Smith, Kay Granger and Nita Lowey. Earlier in the week, the delegation met several congressmen and senators, including Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher‎ and Steve King, as well as the senior staff of some of the committees.