Norway will contribute to the realisation of the decision taken at the NATO Summit in June to offer assistance with the training of Iraq’s security forces. NATO is now planning on the basis that the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) inStavangerwill play a central role in the training that NATO is to provide outsideIraq. The Ministry of Defence is also considering the possibility of contributing a small number of military personnel to assist with the training inIraq.

The Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger forms part for the NATO Command Structure and the Alliance is planning on the basis that JWC will play a central role in the training that is to take place outside Iraq. It is envisaged that a group of about 40 officers from the Iraqi security forces will undergo training at JWC for a period of about two weeks during this autumn. Norway has been requested to provide host country support for this training in the form of transport, board and lodging during the group’s stay in Norway. The cost of this support, estimated to amount to approximately NOK 300,000, will be funded from the defence budget while other costs will be covered by NATO.

“The role envisaged for JWC in the NATO training program is a positive one, seen from a Norwegian perspective,” says Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold. As JWC host nation, Norway is able to contribute substantively to the realisation of the decision to support the training of Iraqi security forces taken at the NATO Summit in Istanbul. JWC is particularly suitable for this kind of training.

The Ministry of Defence is also considering the possibility of contributing a small number of military personnel to assist with the training of Iraqi forces in Iraq. Further consideration within the Alliance will confirm whether such a contribution by Norway can form part of NATO’s collective support for Iraq. If so, the contribution will be in addition to the Norwegian staff officers already serving in the British and Polish sectors.

The basis in international law for Norway’s contribution is provided by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546 and a request from the Iraqi authorities. Resolution 1546 of 8 June 2004 calls on Member States to support the Iraqi interim government through the provision of both military and civil assistance. This call upon Member States has since been reinforced by the request received from Prime Minister Allawi for assistance from NATO.

At the NATO Summit held in Istanbul at the end of June this year, it was decided that the Alliance should accede to Iraq’s request for assistance in training its security forces. It was also decided that the Alliance would give further consideration to the request for other forms of military assistance. An assessment group, under the command of NATO Joint Force Command Naples, is currently in Iraq for the purpose of analysing and clarifying the Iraqi forces’ training needs. Four Norwegian officers serving with NATO form part of the group which consists of some 45 officers and NCOs. The team is to produce a report for submission to the NATO Council by mid-September, the purpose of the report being to provide a basis for decision making with regard to the nature and extent of further NATO support both within and outside Iraq.