McCaul urges administration to ‘diplomatically push’ negotiations between Iraq, Kurdistan

Long-standing issues between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) must be resolved to further the interests of the Iraqi people and reinforce the country’s stability and economic development, said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), ranking member of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“I urge the administration to engage with counterparts in Baghdad and Erbil to identify a way forward on these issues for the benefit of the Iraqi people,” Rep. McCaul wrote in an Aug. 22 letter sent to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

The Government of Iraq and the KRG have been locked in a lengthy, ongoing constitutional dispute over the disposition of Iraq’s natural resources, according to Rep. McCaul’s letter, which notes that since October 2021, Iraq’s stalled government formation process has compounded the effects of this dispute.

“Meanwhile, the Iraqi people suffer, lacking a government that represents their interests and unable to reap the full benefits of revenues from Iraq’s oil, gas, and other natural resources,” he wrote.

Additionally, Iran continues to threaten Iraq, including through a recent spate of missile and rocket attacks carried out by Iran and Iran-backed militias in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), according to the congressman’s letter.

Rep. McCaul pointed out that because the United States has invested significantly in Iraq to help its people defeat and recover from ISIS —  providing more than $12.7 billion in foreign assistance, security assistance, and humanitarian aid since 2014 — these investments should be accompanied by a “commensurate diplomatic push” to urge leaders in Iraq and KRG to negotiate and make political decisions that would benefit the Iraqi people.

“The United States has a long-standing commitment to supporting a stable, sovereign, and democratic Iraq free from malign foreign influence, at peace with its neighbors, and safe for its citizens,” Rep. McCaul wrote. “It is imperative that our diplomatic engagement at all levels further these goals and help position the country and its citizens to realize their full potential.”