Click here to see the video (Interview in Italian)
The Italian TV news channel Sky TG24 interviewed several Iraqis attending the NATO Defense College. Those interviewed included Course Members following the NATO Regional Cooperation Course, and experts taking part in a Crisis Management Exercise (CMX).
The aim of this media contribution is to enhance public awareness of the relationship between NATO and Iraq. The NATO Training Mission in Iraq (NTM-I), established in 2004 at the request of the Iraqi Interim Government and under the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1546, is still in progress as part of the Alliance’s agenda.
It needs to be understood that NTM-I is a mission under the political control of NATO’s North Atlantic Council, with the aim of assisting development of Iraqi security forces’ training facilities and institutions so that Iraq can build the effective and sustainable capability needed to provide for the nation’s needs.
NTM-I’s operational emphasis is on training and mentoring. Close cooperation has therefore been established between the NATO Defense College and the National Defence College of Iraq (NDC-I), the nation’s leading institute for the delivery of strategic-level courses.
This cooperation includes support and exchange between the two institutions. On the one hand, the NATO Defense College receives support from NTM-I advisers, who work in conjunction with their Iraqi partners to establish closer international links with institutes within NATO and elsewhere so that a firm foundation can be provided for long-term international engagement. On the other hand, the NATO Defense College provides its support to NTM-I in conducting Crisis Management Exercises (CMX) for students of the NDC-I.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Valerie Kasseckert, DEU C)
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN