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

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.