The $61 Million Exit

Washington may end direct military support for Iraq’s Kurdish Peshmerga on Sept. 30. The same day, the U.S.-led coalition is scheduled to complete its withdrawal from Iraq and close its remaining base in Erbil. The calendar is doing the diplomacy.

The Pentagon’s memorandum with the Kurdistan Regional Government expires at the end of September. Under it, the Peshmerga received $61 million in fiscal 2026 for weapons, training and stipends through the U.S. counter-ISIS program. The proposed 2027 Pentagon budget reportedly reduces direct Peshmerga funding to zero.

The Peshmerga Ministry says it has received no formal U.S. notice that assistance will end. Kurdish officials also say cooperation may survive in smaller forms, including training, logistics, advice and institutional reform. In foreign-policy language, that means the relationship is not ending. The money is.

The timing is especially convenient for every actor that dislikes Kurdish autonomy. Iran has repeatedly targeted Kurdish sites in Iraq. Baghdad wants security authority centralized.

Turkey watches the Kurdistan Region through the Kurdish insurgency lens. The Peshmerga, once Washington’s preferred local force against ISIS, could lose its dedicated American support exactly as the U.S. leaves the building.

Washington calls the shift a transition to bilateral ties with Baghdad. Erbil hears something simpler. The protection contract expires at midnight.

#Iraq #Kurdistan #Peshmerga #USA

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