The move is a step in the right direction for beating back the Islamic State inside Iraq, so long as the Kurds are able to mount offensives and not merely play defense. It has been reported that the Kurds have retaken at least two cities and with more advanced weaponry they could begin to take back even more. While the United States has said it will not be the air force of the Kurds, it may have to consider broadening it's scope if it wishes to see the Islamic State rolled back.
Below are pictures and tweets showing US forces meeting with Kurdish officials and Peshmerga forces with advanced US weaponry. This post will be updated following any new pictures or information regarding the topic(s) discussed above.
DoD has released the first photo of U.S. Special Forces assessing the humanitarian situation on Mt. Sinjar. pic.twitter.com/qEe3u6rGdF
— CNN NationalSecurity (@NatSecCNN) August 14, 2014
The next tweet shows USAID and US SF forces meeting with Yezidi's and Peshmerga troops on Mt. Sinjar:
tahrik unsuru peşmergelerin gitmesi ardından refleksin nedenini anlayan USAID yetkilisi halka konuşma yapıyor... pic.twitter.com/GYCwt4Po1s
— sinan cudi (@BenCUD) August 14, 2014
This last one (along with the title picture) shows off just some of the weapons from the US received by the Peshmerga.
First confirmed #US weapon on the hands of #Kurdish #Peshmerga #Kurdistan #TwitterKurds #Iraq #ISIS pic.twitter.com/qEP2JWqYNw
— Amoka (@Amoka) August 14, 2014