NATO starts training

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has announced that it has sent a training mission to Iraq, following discussions surrounding this issue at its annual conference held in the Turkish commercial capital, Istanbul in July. "The mission will start training straight away," a NATO official told IRIN on Friday from the organisation's headquarters in Brussels. NATO will be liasing closely with the Iraqi authorities to help them increase their own capacity particularly within the Iraqi Ministry of Defence. "Through this assistance, the Alliance [NATO] is contributing substantially to the goal shared by the entire international community: to help Iraq provide for its own peace and security," said a NATO statement. The organisation would also be arranging training sessions outside the country at NATO facilities. "The mission will also be selecting personnel for training outside of the country," the official added. However, details of where and when have not been disclosed due to security considerations. France had previously opposed so-called "in-country" training within Iraq. The NATO mission will also be working on a more detailed proposal for NATO training, advice and cooperation with the interim Iraqi government and Coalition forces. It will be presented to the North Atlantic Council by 15 September. When asked if this could be the start of talks for a NATO force to be deployed in the troubled country, where incidents of insecurity are almost a daily occurrence, the official said that issue had not been discussed as yet and that the current mission was purely for training purposes.