US House approves $290M for Peshmerga in Pentagon budget

The US House of Representatives, on Thursday, approved the Defense Department budget for Fiscal Year 2019 (which starts in October).

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as the Pentagon budget is formally known, includes $290 million in support for the Kurdish Peshmerga Forces.

The entire “Train and Equip” fund for Iraq is $850 million, with $560 million for Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and the remainder for the Peshmerga, who will, thus, receive 34% of the total. That figure is up from 28% of the FY 2018 appropriation for Iraq.

A fourth amendment to the NDAA, introduced by Rep. Ralph Abraham (R, Louisiana), hailed the “significant contributions” of the Peshmerga to the US-led campaign against the Islamic State (IS) and provided for the $290 million in funding for Kurdish forces.

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