MDC Junior Researcher Ceng Sagnic analyzes the KRG's role in the current conflict against ISIS in Iraq.
The KRG’s military capacity has not been fully tested at this time, while ISIS has a clear strategy of pressuring Baghdad, in order to secure its foothold in northern Iraq. In light of the strategies adopted by the various sides in Syria, Iraq may even be able to temporarily de-escalate what has become a full-fledged war, in favor of carefully selected skirmishes. Such an Iraqi decision, indeed, depends on two decisive factors: the fate of US military aid; and Iran’s paramilitary capacity to carve out a northward path for the Iraqi military.
External reference