NATO Envoys Approve Iraq Training Plan

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer reportedly wants the mission to start work by the end of this year (file photo) 17 November 2004 -- Military chiefs from NATO allies met in Brussels today and approved plans for expanding NATO's training program for Iraqi Army officers.

Military experts from all 26 NATO members last week approved the program, which calls for the deployment of 300 military instructors and hundreds of guards and support staff to Iraq.

NATO already has nearly 70 staff members in Iraq on its training mission.

At the meeting, NATO military leaders also met with their counterparts from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia as part of an initiative to increase cooperation.

(AP/AFP)