Resupply Help

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today that seven nations have signed up for a U.S.-led effort to supply Kurdish forces in Iraq combating the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant.

"Two weeks ago, I commissioned a U.S.-led working group to accelerate resupply efforts to the embattled Kurdish forces in northern Iraq,” Hagel said in a statement. “In addition to support from the U.S., and the central government of Iraq in Baghdad, seven additional nations -- Albania, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom -- have committed to helping provide Kurdish forces urgently needed arms and equipment. This multinational effort, which is being coordinated with the Government of Iraq in Baghdad, will greatly assist Kurdish forces in repelling the brutal terrorist threat they face from ISIL.”

Hagel said resupply operations have already begun and “will accelerate in the coming days,” noting that other nations are expected to join the effort.

"The determination of the Iraqi people and the international community to counter the threat posed by ISIL is only growing, and the United States looks forward to working with our friends from around the world to assist this effort," he said.

Hagel recently noted that the Pentagon may have to reconsider its fiscal year 2015 budget posture to pay for ongoing operations in Iraq:

"We are pursuing a long-term strategy against ISIL because ISIL clearly poses a long-term threat," he said Aug. 22 during a Pentagon press conference. "They're beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology; a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess; they are tremendously well funded. This is beyond anything that we've seen."

When asked if the long-term strategy against ISIL would cause the Pentagon to reconsider its budget plans, Hagel said: "Maybe."

He added that the Pentagon is "constantly shaping a budget to assure the resources match the mission and the mission and the resources match the threat," noting that "we've had to move assets for the last couple of months obviously to accomplish the mission in Iraq. That costs money; that takes certain monies out of certain funds; it's a constant, fluid process."