NATO announces eight-fold increase in number of forces in Iraq

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talks to NATO trainers and Iraqi troops during a visit to the NATO Training Camp in Iraq, Mar. 5, 2018. (Photo: NATO)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talks to NATO trainers and Iraqi troops during a visit to the NATO Training Camp in Iraq, Mar. 5, 2018. (Photo: NATO)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced on Thursday that the international alliance has decided to increase the number of those participating on the ground in its mission in Iraq to eight times its present size.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a press conference, held at the end of the second day of a meeting of defense ministers of NATO member states, that "the decision is to increase the number of mission personnel from 500 to 4,000."

"Today we discussed the decision to expand NATO's training mission in Iraq (NMI), to ​​support the Iraqi forces, and make sure that ISIS will not return," Stoltenberg added, indicating that, thanks to the shift, NATO's training programs will include more Iraqi security institutions and areas outside the capital, Baghdad.

He pointed out further that "the increase in the number of the NATO mission will come gradually," expressing "the alliance's full commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq."

Stoltenberg confirmed that he discussed this issue earlier this week with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and assured him that all NATO steps would be taken exclusively in coordination with the government of Baghdad.

The mission currently consists of approximately 500 staff officers, advisors, and support staff from allied NATO-countries including Australia, Sweden, and Finland. The objective of the mission has been to prevent the spread of terrorism in Iraq and to secure long-term stability.

In November, the mission's Canadian leadership transferred command of NATO forces in Iraq to Denmark, which will retain its leadership role through 2022.

Editing by John J. Catherine