BRUSSELS (November 21, 2004) - The dispute between the Iraqi Interim Government and NATO about the stationing of NATO training troops seemed to be finally resolved. Despite the fact, that the trans-Atlantic alliance unanimously agreed to provide Iraq with military training in the Istanbul summit meeting on June 28 and again last week, Germany and France, the two key European NATO members, have steadfastly refused to allow their military trainers to be stationed in country.
Germany, one of the biggest military power in Europe, now have agreed to provide a total of 32 Bundeswehr officers for the Iraq training mission. Responding to complaints about this minuscule contribution, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder vehemently defended Germany's decision. "What counts is not quantity, but quality", he explained."Remember World War I and II, no other country in the world ever has the military capacity and skills to start two major wars like that," he added.
According to the agreement that Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi reached last night, the 32 officers of the German Bundeswehr will be stationed in the United Arab Emirates, with headquarters at the Le Meridien hotel in Abu Dhabi. Their primary mission will be to train Iraqi security forces to "operate five-ton trucks".
In a related development, the New York Times reported that a Dodge truck dealership in Detroit has offered to provide similar training program to the Iraqi armed forces, but was ultimately rejected by NATO. An unnamed, high-ranking NATO general told reporters that while the Dodge offer was "cheaper, larger in scale and can be done in-country", it lacked the "military sophistication" that only Germany's Bundeswehr can provide.
