Brussels, 25/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - NATO is on track toward providing a positive response to the Interim Iraqi Government's request for "technical assistance", a NATO diplomat said on Friday during the discussions that followed the North Atlantic Council (NAC). The request, which was very timely on the eve of the Summit at a time when Alliance member nations are still divided over the role that States and international organisations should play in Iraq, is for a role limited to providing training for the army and other forms of technical assistance. No objection of principle has been raised, although not all seemed to agree, Friday midday, on the modalities and formulation.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is hoping for a decision of principle. The secretary general stressed at a press conference on Thursday that the Iraqi Prime Minister, Iyad Allaoui, and himself would have "other meetings" after Istanbul to specify in concrete terms what could be done. He added that NATO must not "slam the door" in Iraq's face, warning that, on the other hand, NATO must not go further than what is requested. "The Iraqi Prime Minister would not like NATO to answer a question that is not asked", he replied, clearly dismissing the possibility that NATO may decide in Istanbul to send troops under its flag, which no State is in fact asking, although the United States did originally want this to happen.
One of the sensitive issues to be discussed by the Allies on Friday is that of knowing whether the training must be delivered in Iraq, in the region, or in other countries. "Both are possible", the secretary general said on Thursday. One diplomat from a member nation said most training should be done in Iraq, since that is where most Iraqis are. The training of some high ranking Iraqi officers, however, could be carried out in two NATO training camps in Rome and Oberammergau, Bavaria.
Several delegations, mainly among the countries opposed to the war in Iraq, stressed that NATO is not used to and does not have the capacity for training or providing technical assisrtance but could ensure coordination between the Alliance member countries that are ready to provide technical assistance.