NATO to end training mission in Iraq by Dec. 31

[News_Editor]

NATO to end training mission in Iraq by Dec. 31

2011-12-12 21:08:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- NATO's North Atlantic Council on Monday decided to withdraw all its training personnel from Iraq by the end of the month after the Iraqi government rejected NATO requests for legal immunity for its foreign trainers.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it was unable to reach an agreement with the Iraqi government despite 'robust negotiations' conducted over several weeks. The NATO Training Mission in Iraq (NTM-I) was established in 2004 to provide training, advice and mentoring support to Iraqi security forces.

But NATO officials insisted that its foreign trainers, most of them Italians, should have legal immunity from Iraqi law due to fears that service members might not receive fair trials because of anti-Western sentiment. The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki previously offered unspecified 'protection privileges' in an attempt to negotiate a compromise, but an agreement was never reached.

As a result, Rasmussen said its current force of about 170 personnel from 12 member nations and Ukraine will leave Iraq by December 31, when the current mandate of the mission expires. "Our trainers can be very proud of what they have achieved over the last seven years, contributing to Iraq's security capacity and helping to develop a more sustainable, multi-ethnic security force," he said.

Since 2004, NTM-I has trained over 5,000 military personnel and over 10,000 police personnel in Iraq, provided courses for nearly 2,000 more in Allied countries, as well as over 115 million euro ($152 million) worth of military equipment and a total of 17.7 million euros ($23.4 million) in trust fund donations from all 28 NATO Allies for training and education at NATO facilities.

In addition to NTM-I, all U.S. forces are also scheduled to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011. Less than 35,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, nearly nine years since the U.S.-led war began on March 20, 2003.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-12-12

[elgato]

Why would they require immunity? Are they planning to rape and/or pillage as has been reported in the past?

[Steely Dan]

Perhaps having a swift drink after work is not tolerated by the new Iraqi authorities.