Alwaght- Up to 1990, Peshmerga paramilitary force operated as the military wing of the militant Kurdish parties, especially the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani and Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP), led by Masoud Barzani. After the establishment of the Kurdistan Region and the emergence of the Kurdistan Regional Government, with its own ups and downs, Peshmerga forces are currently known as the army and military force of the Kurdistan Region.
As the Kurdistan Regional Government was established, the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs was also created which is in charge of organizing and handling the Peshmerga affairs.
Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs and its other official and unofficial institutions confront tough and significant challenges, some of which are as follow:
1. There are Serious disputes over the type cooperation between Peshmerga and central government, particularly with the Iraqi military and the Ministry of Defense, in a way that the Kurds believe that Peshmerga is independent from the Iraqi government and it is under the command of the head of the Kurdistan Region, saying that Baghdad should only provide them with funds and equipment. However, based on international law, the Baghdad government asserts the Iraqi military should be integrated and under the command of the capital.
2. There are unofficial but serious divisions between the Peshmerga forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq, in a way that despite elapsing over two decades from the establishment of the Kurdistan Region, still their commands are issued and carried out quite distinctively.
3. Peshmerga forces are highly disorganized, as some of its officials admit that Peshmerga comprise the highest number of salaried employees, while a significant percentage of them have never been actively present in Peshmerga.
4. There is a significant lack of equipment, training, funds and appropriate plans to organize the Peshmerga forces.
5. There is a clear split in all ranks and levels of command and management in Peshmerga which act as a serious deterrent against institutionalizing the corrective measures.
6. There is a large group of the elderly and retired in the Peshmerga including the veterans and long-standing members which served in time of Saddam and even before 1975.
7. There are internal conflicts and rivalries between the two dominant groups which culminated in clashes in 1996, in the Kurdish civil war.
8. There is a third group of Peshmerga, which is generally the quota of parties and groups other than the above two ruling parties, including Islamic parties, communist and socialist parties, and even the Turkmens.
9. Separation of reform Movement from the PUK has changed a significant number of Peshmerga into separate quotas of the Movement, to the extent that in the current government of the Kurdistan Region the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs was allocated to this Movement, and Mustafa Sayed Qader was appointed the Minister of the Movement who formerly was one of the Movement's leaders.
Given that each of these challenges cover multiple aspects, they exert wide operational, socio-structural effects on the Kurds. In this article we have tried to make use of statistical and analytical data, and give you a general picture of the Peshmerga in the Kurdistan Region :
- Similar to other Kurdish organizations, the Peshmerga was divided into two ministries which were run completely distinctive by two ruling parties.
- It is more than a decade that a single ministry has been created which is in charge of organizing the forces that are grouped in 14 brigades.
- Peshmerga units unofficially called Yakray 70 and 80, are respectively under the command of PUK and KDP politburos; however, they are not under the command of Peshmerga which constitute a serious challenge for the power of the ministry.
- Currently, 16 countries collaborate with Peshmerga and provide it with military equipment, arms and ammunition. Besides, officers and trainers from 10 countries are present in the Kurdistan Region. Eight countries have helped the Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIS through launching airstrikes against ISIS positions. Peshmerga forces, battling against ISIS, have liberated a large area of the occupied lands, more than 20 thousand square kilometers, which includes a city, 17 districts, 5 counties and 93 villages.
- Concerning the distribution of equipment supplied by 16 countries, there are many conflicts and disagreements between the politicians and the Peshmerga, each accusing the other of theft or abuse of the equipment.
- Distribution of geographic regions between the Peshmerga, especially between Yakray 70 and 80, the way commanders participate, and how the equipment is allocated have always been among the challenging and problematic issues.
-Disbanded and outlawed Iranian parties and groups such as the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and PJAK have been among the Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIS, some of them were killed or incurred casualties who received material support from the Peshmerga.
- Up to now, 1023 Peshmerga troops have lost their lives in the fight against ISIS, 262 of them were officers or commanders.
- Health care services for the injured were provided discriminatively, and the amount of support and the type of hospitals were different. 368 wounded have been sent to destinations outside Iraq, including Turkey, India, China, Lebanon, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
- To fight a ten-month war, 70 million dollars (84 billion dinars) were spent.
- Peshmerga employment is based on quotas and being introduced by parties; therefore, it has been a challenging issue too.
- Eight operational axes are defined to combat ISIS, which include part of the allegedly 1050 km long Kurdistan border.
- Peshmerga forces, reportedly have 429 thousand salaried employees which constitute one-third of the salaried employees in the Kurdistan Region. These figures include the Peshmerga, police and security forces, relief agencies, military police (Zeravani) and electricity officers. 124 thousand employees are only defined in the Interior Ministry of the Kurdistan Region. There are 32,000 security forces in the Kurdistan Region, and the Security Council of the Kurdistan Region has 6,000 armed forces at its disposal. Yakray 70 and 80 are also part of the statistics and have been included as part of the armed forces in Iraqi Kurdistan.
- These 12 brigades which sometimes are also called a division, is just a formal title, and in practice the former de facto categories of the parties are applied.
Analysis
1. According to available information, Iraq has the highest number of salaried employees among other countries, which is estimated to be about 5 million. However, this figure has naturally risen with the emergence of ISIS and consequently emergence of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces of Iraq) reaching 6 million employees.
On the other hand, according to the tacit approvals and an interview with the minister of Peshmerga Affairs, the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, has nearly 1.5 million annuitants, one-third of which are Peshmerga forces as it was explained in the above lines. Therefore, in a country with a maximum population of 32 million people, 6 million annuitants could be considered a serious challenge for the economic development.
2. The West, especially the US have alleged that strengthening the Peshmerga is strategically aimed to resist the Shiite rule in Iraq. According to the US officials and analysts, Peshmerga forces can prevent Hezbollahization of Iraq.
3. Individuals and officials of the Peshmerga, and even all people and officials of the Kurdistan Region are deeply and seriously interested in the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially the older generation, as tens of thousands of them have lived in Iran for many years as refugees. They are practical examples which act contrary to the instructions and pressure from the security forces in Kurdistan.
