December 4, 2010NATO open to staying in Iraq beyond end 2011
NATO is prepared to extend its troop deployment in Iraq in order to train police beyond the end of 2011, but did not specify for long this would continue. The alliance, which was not involved in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq due to the opposition of some NATO members including France and Germany, launched a mission to train Iraqi security forces in 2004 at Baghdad's…
NATO is prepared to extend its troop deployment in Iraq in order to train police beyond the end of 2011, but did not specify for long this would continue. The alliance, which was not involved in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq due to the opposition of some NATO members including France and Germany, launched a mission to train Iraqi security forces in 2004 at Baghdad's…
German foreign minister in Baghdad for lightning visit
Baghdad - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle arrived in Iraq on Saturday for a brief visit - previously unannounced due to security concerns.
Westerwelle is expected to meet with Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki, president Jalal Talabani, as well as representatives of the Christian minority.
"We want to send a signal of support for political stabilisation of Iraq," he said.
Westerwelle, who heads a business delegation, called on the Iraqi parties to work on the democratic process.
Westerwelle is the first European foreign minister to visit Iraq since the March 7 parliamentary elections.
Last month, al-Maliki was assigned the task of forming a new government to be comprised of groups which spent eight months reaching an agreement on how to allocate the country's leadership positions.
