Nice, 10/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - By 22 February when US President George W. Bush arrives at the summit of NATO Heads of State and Government, NATO and the United States hope to be able to announce that all 26 allied nations are taking part in the NATO mission to train Iraqi security forces. This hope was expressed on Wednesday by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and was reiterated by the latter on Thursday. He said at a press conference that their aim was to have all 26 Allies taking part in the training mission by 22 February, providing training in or outside Iraq, equipment or funding, or a combination of various contributions.
Currently, ten States are training Iraqi soldiers on Iraqi soil. Exact numbers of instructors and protection forces on the ground vary from one source to the next, even within NATO. In December, NATO foreign ministers had announced that 300 persons would be taking part in the mission. The Alliance secretary general said on Thursday that 109 persons were currently at the NATO headquarters in the Green Zone and that the figure of 361 including just over 100 instructors is fixed for end February. General David Petraeus, who heads the NATO training mission in Iraq, said that, for now, there are between 90 and 100 NATO instructors on the ground. “The only thing one can be sure about when a figure is given is that it is wrong … numbers are so small that, if just ten people take the plane for a few days' holiday, everything changes”, was the ironical comment from one diplomat.
Ministers took stock of their contributions to the training effort and made new announcements. Germans are present in the Emirates and their mission, which is above all bilateral, is now finally under the NATO label, a diplomat said. They plan to train 1,500 Iraqi troops. France is still offering to train the gendarmerie in Qatar, French Defence Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie confirmed on Thursday, specifying that 1,500 Iraqis could receive training.
Spanish Defence Minister José Bono Martinez said on Wednesday evening after his meeting with his US counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, that his country is willing to train Iraqi soldiers in a de-mining centre not far from Madrid. Spain would train around 150 persons. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos spoke of participation in a joint fund. Romania promised to train 27 officers in Iraq this summer. Norway is to send 10 instructors, who are currently on their way to Iraq, a diplomat states. Slovakia caused quite an stir by announcing that it would send 2 instructors who could possibly be backed up by another 3. In the same order of magnitude, Bulgaria has announced its contribution of 5 persons. The Netherlands has also promised to send more instructors. On Wednesday, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht spoke only of the training of magistrates and police forces outside Iraq, which does not come within the framework of the NATO mission, which focuses solely on the military.
NATO has also set up trust funds for receiving the financial contributions of Allies for the training mission and for equipment. It hopes to receive a few million euros during an initial period, one Alliance official said. This week, the Allies began to make pledges. Luxembourg will provide EUR 150,000, Luxembourg Defence Minister Luc Frieden said. Greece promised EUR 300,000, a Greek representative said. Norway will provide funding but has not yet decided on the amount. France will spend EUR 15 million for its bilateral training mission, Defence Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie said. These funds open to all Allies are “an illustration” of what NATO plans to do for its operations, i.e. no longer allow the cost of missions to be borne by the countries taking part in the mission but open the contribution to all to achieve better cost-sharing, a NATO official said.
Whether training is in Iraq or outside Iraq “is of no great concern to me”, the NATO secretary general said. German Defence Minister Peter Struck assured that Donald Rumsfeld had made some very positive comments about what Germany is doing for training Iraqis, while the United States had openly criticised the refusal by countries like France and Germany to send their officers to Iraq for training and continue to express the same criticism in the corridors. Everyone agrees that the most important thing is for people to be trained and the rest is secondary, Peter Struck said. Michèle Alliot-Marie stressed that French training would be “bilateral” and not come under NATO.