By Rowan Scarborough - The Washington Times

Iraqi Kurdish fighters, the first to seriously confront the Islamic State invasion nine months ago, remain woefully short of weapons today as the Baghdad central government withholds shipments of front-line American weapons.

Bayan Sami Rahman, the Kurdistan Regional Government representative to the U.S., issued a dire warning this month that Peshmerga forces face a violent and better equipped Islamic State, also known as ISIL and ISIS. The terror army captured a full inventory of American weapons when it sent the Iraq army into quick retreat.

“Kurdistan is in a fight for our own existence,” Ms. Rahman said at the Bipartisan Police Center. “We also feel we are not getting our fair share.”

The Kurds’ cause has attracted a number of allies on Capitol Hill, including Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican.

He sent a letter to President Obama this week, saying “I urge you to consider expediting the delivery of resources directly to the KRG given the immediate threat.”

Ms. Rahman said the Iraqi government has control of American M4 rifles, M3 anti-tank weapons, counter-improvised explosive devices and armored vehicles desperately needed by her troops.

“The Peshmerga … are under quipped,” she said. “Some of our weapons date back to the second World War.”

She said Mr. Obama’s train-and-equip fund of $1.6 billion “gave us great hope that American weapons would be delivered in early 2015. … The vast majority of those weapons have not been delivered.”

“The lion’s share of the fight against ISIS is being carried out by Peshmerga,” she said. Yet, she said, of 250 mine-resistance vehicles shipped to Iraq, only 25 have been sent to Kurdistan.

“We want U.S.-origin weapons and equipment and we believe it should be delivered direct to Erbil,” she said of the city where the U.S. set up a joint command. “There is no need for it to go to Baghdad.”

The Obama administration says it must follow federal law that requires it to ship weapons to the sovereign nation, in this case the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad. It is then up to the administration of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is in Washington this week, to distribute the equipment to its army, Shiite militiamen fighting with Iran’s assistance and the Kurds in northern Iraq.

Kurdish-Baghdad relations have been strained. The government has been reluctant to arm Kurdish troops, some of whom talk of gaining independence from Baghdad once the Islamic State is evicted.

The irony is, the force that was the most effective against the Islamic State, retaking large sections of territory with the help of U.S. air strikes, is the one most starved for arms.

“The fact that resources are not reaching the KRG should cause significant concern,” wrote Mr. Hunter, a former Marine officer. “With the support of coalition efforts, Kurdish forces have achieved measurable success against [the Islamic State] and, as a coalition leader, it is imperative that we ensure security resources are being delivered without delay.”