NATO: The training of the soldiers must continue to ensure that we do not return

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[size=52]NATO: The training of the soldiers must continue to ensure that we do not return[/size]

[size=45]Translation: Hamed Ahmed
[size=45]NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that the alliance should reinforce the tasks of its military exercises in Iraq to ensure that the forces of NATO members do not return to Iraq to fight ISIS militants.[/size]
[size=45]Secretary-General Stoltenberg held talks in recent days with senior Iraqi officials, as well as with Jordan's King Abdullah, amid conservative optimism that NATO may be allowed to resume its training activities in Iraq soon.[/size]
[size=45]Stoltenberg said that preventing the possibility of ISIS returning is better than going to combat it, stressing the need to train Iraqi forces and strengthen their capabilities to combat terrorism.[/size]
[size=45]"Preventing and preventing the emergence of ISIS again is preferable to interfering militarily. If we do not act to reinforce training in Iraq now, we will run the risk of going to combat again," he added.[/size]
[size=45]Stoltenberg told European Parliament members in Brussels on Tuesday, "We need to go with full force and continue training." Let's build everything from the Ministry of Defense, Institutions, Command and Control to Training Forces. NATO can achieve this. We have already done so, but we can do more in this area. ”[/size]
[size=45]In 2018, NATO agreed to embark on a training mission in Iraq that included nearly 500 NATO members with the aim of building and strengthening the capabilities of the country's armed forces so that they could better combat extremist groups such as ISIS.[/size]
[size=45]But the training mission was suspended after the United States launched a missile from a drone on a convoy near Baghdad International Airport earlier this month, killing the Iranian military commander Qasim Soleimani and deputy head of the PMF Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Parliament endorsed a decision to remove foreign forces from the country in response, and the Iraqi government also demanded, through the caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, that foreign forces leave Iraqi territory. As tensions escalated, US President Donald Trump insisted that NATO make more efforts in the region.[/size]
[size=45]However, there appears to be no desire among European allies and Canada to deploy troops, although the United States is by far the largest and most powerful of the 29 member states.[/size]
[size=45]"I think the West has left early," said the NATO chief, which allowed ISIS to take advantage of the security vacuum and take control of large swaths of land in northern Iraq and Syria.[/size]
[size=45]"We have to prevent this from happening again and go to build some kind of local security capacity so that they can prevent the re-emergence of ISIS in their country," Stoltenberg added. If we do not do so, we will have a big problem for sure, and then we will go back by road two to three years in the backdrop of major combat battles against terrorism. "[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Operations John Manza met on Tuesday with the Undersecretary of the Iraqi Foreign Minister Abdul Karim Hashem. The two sides discussed the current status of the NATO mission in Iraq and cooperation between Iraq and NATO. The two parties agreed that the common interest requires a strong coordination relationship between Iraq and NATO.[/size]
[size=45]And the alliance indicated in a statement Tuesday that it is still committed to completing the training mission in Iraq that contributes to strengthening the fight against terrorism.[/size]
[size=45]About: Associated Press[/size]


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