Congress decides Iraqi Kurds, Sunnis aren't countries after all

The annual defense bill gets a new look after backlash from Baghdad.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 3: Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) listens to Defense Undersecretary for Policy Christine Wormuth and Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of the U.S. Central Command testify during the House Armed Services Full Committee hearing on "The President's Proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force Against ISIL and U.S. Policy, Strategy, and Posture in the Greater Middle East" in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 3, 2015 in Washington, D.C. President Obama i
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, listens to Defense Undersecretary for Policy Christine Wormuth and Army Gen. Lloyd Austin during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. - Getty Images/Gabriella Demczuk
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Julian Pecquet
@JPecquet_ALM
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Congress is rewriting a provision to directly arm Iraqi Kurdish and Sunni militias after a backlash from Baghdad and threats to US troops.

The annual defense bill that cleared the House Armed Services Committee last month would have deemed the militias "countries" in order to make it easier for the United States to arm them directly. Criticism from Iraq and the Obama administration, however, has prompted the panel's chairman to seek to rewrite the provision as the bill prepares to hit the House floor May15.

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