NATO to Expand Iraq Training Mission, Still Needs Iraq’s Approval

U.S. Secretary for Defense Mark Esper, front center, shakes hands with British Defense Minister Ben Wallace during a group photo of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Feb. 12, 2020. Virginia Mayo/ AP Photo

NATO is ready to expand its military training effort in Iraq, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, but the Iraqi government has not yet approved the move.

The Canada-led NATO training mission in Iraq was launched in 2018 but suspended last month after a U.S. missile strike at Baghdad Airport killed the Iranian regime’s top military official, Qassem Soleimani, and Iraq’s Parliament demanded that foreign troops leave. President Donald Trump asked NATO on Jan. 8 to become more involved with the Middle East after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops the day before.