Nato agrees to expand Iraq role

[Henk Elegeert]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

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  Nato agrees to expand Iraq role

The Nato alliance has agreed to take on a larger role in the
training of Iraqi security forces, a spokesman said.

The organisation will now work towards creating a large
military training academy to expand the work done by some 40
Nato instructors already in Iraq.

After a week-long delay, accord was reached through a
revised plan that overcame French and Belgian objections.

The two countries had earlier voiced concern over how the
academy would be led, funded and protected.

Under the plan, some 300 Nato instructors will now be sent
to Iraq to train local security forces.

BBC regional analyst William Horsley says the move is a big
step forward for the US and its allies in Iraq, who have
long wanted to draw more on the huge resources and
experience of Nato in the task of bringing security and
stability to Iraq.

French doubts

France, Germany, Belgium and Spain will not contribute
personnel for the project and have sought assurances that
other members of the 26-nation alliance will shoulder the
bulk of the training costs.

"This assistance should be oriented to help Iraq build the
capability of its government to address the security needs
of the Iraqi people," Nato spokesman James Appathurai told
reporters in Brussels.

The regular Nato ambassadors' meeting followed an appeal by
US President George W Bush for other countries to unite "to
win the battle of bringing democracy to Iraq".

Earlier France's President Jacques Chirac had said the
US-led invasion of Iraq, which toppled Saddam Hussein last
year, had opened up a Pandora's box of new problems in the
Middle East.

The French leader again cast doubt on the strategy of the
multinational force for bringing stability to Iraq.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/3680504.stm

Published: 2004/09/22 18:03:29 GMT
"

Het op hol geslagen gedrocht (NAVO) met in de hoofdrol Jaap
(waar zou je (De) Hoop op moeten hebben) Scheffer gaat
buiten het parlement om te werk.

Het zat er al een tijdje aan te komen. Europa heeft nu een
eigen oorlogmachinerie en neemt alvast een voorschotje op
haar legitimiteit. Laat nu het kanonnen vlees maar aantreden !!!

Henk Elegeert

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