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NATO Clears Way for Bigger Iraqi Operation to Meet Trump’s Demand

NATO Clears Way for Bigger Iraqi Operation to Meet Trump Demand

(Bloomberg) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization pledged to expand its training mission in Iraq as a quick initial response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for the alliance to play a bigger role in the Middle East.

NATO defense ministers decided to increase its 500-strong Iraqi operation by shifting personnel deployed for the much bigger U.S.-led international coalition to fight terrorism in the country.

“This will consist of taking on some of the global coalition’s current training activities,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday after chairing the first part of a meeting of the alliance’s defense chiefs. “Ministers also agreed to explore what more we can do beyond this first step.”

Trump stoked speculation about a bigger NATO footprint in the Middle East a month ago after Iran carried out attacks in Iraq on two bases used by American troops as retaliation for a U.S. airstrike that killed top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

Trump said “the scope of NATO should be increased” in the region to tackle terrorist threats.

When campaigning for office in 2016, Trump vowed to get the U.S. out of what he called “endless wars.” Yet heading into the 2020 election, he has sent more than 15,000 American troops to the Mideast since May to pressure Iran.

NATO has run a training mission in Iraq since late 2018 aimed at supporting Iraqi forces and preventing the re-emergence of Islamic State. The alliance suspended the mission on Jan. 6 as a result of the heightened U.S.-Iran tensions and security risks in the region.

Stoltenberg declined to comment Wednesday on how much bigger the operation may become, saying the defense ministers took a decision “in principle” and “then we will continue to work on the details and the numbers and exactly what kinds of activities.”

The plan to enlarge the mission will require the support of the Iraqi government, a tricky domestic political task after the country’s parliament last month urged the expulsion of foreign troops. Stoltenberg has been in touch with senior Iraqi authorities to pave the way for the bigger NATO operation.

“Everything we do in Iraq will be in close coordination and with the consent of the Iraqi government,” he said. “We have a very good and constructive dialog.”

NATO officials aim to weigh over the coming weeks and months what additional activities could be undertaken in the Middle East and in North Africa.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.net;Glen Carey in Brussels at gcarey8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, ;Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Caroline Alexander, Larry Liebert

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