Stoltenberg, NATO Ready to Expand Mission in Iraq

Secretary - General NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said the military alliance is ready to expand the training mission in Iraq.

Stoltenberg said he expects NATO defence ministers to agree about planning a larger mission in Iraq during their meeting in Brussels on February 14th and 15th.

“Experiences in Afghanistan have taught us that strengthening local troops is one of our best tools in fighting terrorism”, the chief said NATO at a media conference in Brussels.

Training Mission NATO in Iraq was founded in 2004 to help this country establish effective security forces.

The mission has trained over 5,000 members of Iraq's military staff and 10,000 police officers.