NATO to support Iraqi with gendarmerie training

NATO’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced the decision on the second day of a meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence in Brussels, 15 June.

While NATO does not have a direct role in the international stabilisation force that has been in Iraq since May 2003, the Alliance is helping Iraq provide for its own security by training Iraqi military personnel, supporting the development of the country’s security institutions, and coordinating the delivery of equipment.

Since the beginning of the mission in 2004 and as of December 2006, the NATO mission has trained over 4 000 officers in country, as well as 934 in NATO and national facilities.

This training will now be extended to include gendarmerie-type training of the Iraqi national police, in order to bridge the gap between routine police work and military operations.