Speaking with a U.S. military delegation, Mas'oud Barazani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), expressed the desire to form a united army for Kurdistan with the Kurdish militia Pesh Merga serving as its nucleus.

Barazani said that there was a consensus across the Kurdish region for the establishment of such army, that would be built according to "modern and international specifications."

Iraqi government spokesman 'Ali aAl-Dabbagh insisted that the Iraqi constitution does not allow the creation of two armies. He said: "We will not permit local forces to threaten the security of Iraq."

Dr. Fuad Hussein, chief of the bureau of the KRG president, said that under the constitution, the federal government was required to provide the salaries and the military equipment to the Pesh Mergha but has failed to do so.

[The KRG has already its own flag, national anthem, small consular/diplomatic corps and trade agreements. With the creation of a new army, it will meet all the requirement of a statehood except for sovereignty.]

Sources: Al-Mada, Iraq, November 23, 2009; Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, November 23, 2009