Peshmerga Divisions "Hamper War Effort"

The competition between the KDP and PUK gave rise to a vast network of patronage, whereby thousands of people now receive their salaries through appointments linked to the two parties in return for their votes. Another manifestation is a large number of "ghost" peshmerga who either do not exist or do not turn up for duty. Their salaries are still paid; however, a portion of that goes to the commanders.

In October, Ali Hama Salih, a parliamentarian from the Movement for Change, or Gorran, told his party’s media outlet that the KRG's Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs has one of the largest numbers of ghost employees. Official KRG estimates put the number of peshmerga at around 190,000 to 250,000, but some officials say it is in fact far lower. It is not uncommon for senior peshmerga officials to receive promotions on the basis of their loyalty to one of the rival parties instead of their military prowess.

“The best thing that could happen to the Kurds is if the PUK and KDP peshmerga united. Peshmerga are the soul of Kurdistan,” said Omar Mohsen, a PUK member since 1976 who fought IS militants for 23 days in August in a village near the Syrian border. He lamented, however, “Corruption won't allow it. The PUK and KDP leadership is rife with corruption."

In the past, the Kurds' internal division had dissuaded the United States from training and equipping the peshmerga. Before the last US troops left Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of Multi-National Force-Iraq, sat down with the Kurdish leadership in northern Iraq to convey an important message from Washington.

According to the minutes of the 2009 meeting obtained by Al-Monitor, he told them he had come to talk about "peshmerga affairs" and said, "Funds have been put aside by Congress to prepare, train and arm the [peshmerga] force … but I can’t give it to two separate peshmerga forces … unless they are unified."