Ros-Lehtinen and Sherman Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Urging Assistance to Kurdish Peshmerga in Fight Against ISIS

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, introduced H.Res 682, which urges the State Department to provide necessary equipment and training to the Kurdish Peshmerga and assist the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in meeting the needs of refugees and displaced persons, and encourages the Peshmerga to continue protecting minorities who are fleeing to the Kurdistan Region from persecution in Iraq and Syria.

Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

"The Kurdish Peshmerga have been an extremely effective fighting force against ISIS yet continue to be at a disadvantage because of their outdated weapons and low ammunition stocks. As ISIS continues to wreak havoc across Iraq and Syria, the State Department should be doing everything it can to ensure the Peshmerga have what they need. I urge State to provide the necessary equipment and training to the Peshmerga in the most expeditious manner possible while helping the KRG meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands of minorities, displaced persons, and refugees who are fleeing the brutality of ISIS."

Statement by Sherman:

"Both the Assad Regime and the Islamic State are creating regional instability and need to be confronted effectively. While the United States continues to focus on ISIS alone, the Kurdish Peshmerga have been front and center in confronting both these both evils, and we should support their efforts. That is why we urge that the Peshmerga continue and expand their efforts to protect ethnic and religious minorities that have had to flee these conflicts and urge the President to order significantly increased military support."

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