NofR on ADVFN4 Sep 2020 11:31
Pushing Baghdad to Settle Differences with Erbil The US also pressed the Iraqis to resolve differences with the KRG, particularly the budget dispute, in accord with Iraq’s 2005 constitution. “I urged Baghdad to clinch a budget deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government,” Pompeo told journalists in a joint press conference with the Iraqi Foreign Minister following their meeting. A senior administration official, briefing the press later that day and in advance of Trump’s meeting with Kadhimi the next day, spoke similarly, but more expansively. “The constitution is the basis and the contract between Iraq’s people and its government,” he said, responding to a question from Kurdistan 24. “As you know, there are a number of provisions regarding the relationship between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government, and we’re keen to see those fulfilled.” This, too, is a position friendly to the Kurdistan Region. As Prime Minister Barzani said subsequently, as he briefed the Arab media, ”Unfortunately, after the constitution was approved in 2005, the people of the Kurdistan Region did not feel that the federal government in Baghdad was committed to the constitution as required, so all the problems that we are witnessing today are the result of the lack of application of the constitution.” Indeed, that briefing, on August 26, marked the first, and only, time that Barzani has addressed the Arab media. Why did he choose to do that then? US policy on Iraq has shifted in a subtle, but significant, way. It has moved away from the Obama-era position: regular deference to Baghdad, rationalized as respecting Iraqi sovereignty. That was also the easiest approach. One consequence, however, was that Baghdad slid, ever more, under Tehran’s influence. That is what the KRG, US, and Iraq are obliged to deal with now, as they attempt to reverse that shift. Merely by supporting an earlier US vision of Iraq—including respect for the 2005 constitution, and with it, federalism in Iraq and the acknowledgement of legitimate Kurdish rights—Washington has provided the KRG more room for maneuver, including reaching out to America’s Arab allies. That, it seems, is why Prime Minister Barzani spoke to the Arab media last week: to explain the KRG position to that audience and work together to promote security and stability in the region.
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