The Commandant of the NATO Defense College, Lieutenant General Wolf-Dieter Loeser, hosted a delegation from the National Defence College of Iraq (NDC-I), on 17 June 2010. Led by Major General Ali Al Faraji, Commandant of the NDC-I, the group visited the College as part of a broader visit to Rome, supported by Italy’s Centro Alti Studi per la Difesa and the NATO Training Mission-Iraq.
The National Defence College of Iraq is that nation’s lead institute for the delivery of strategic level courses, and aims to enhance the strategic understanding of senior military officers and civil servants by exposing them to a wide variety of strategic issues, through national, international and interagency lenses. The College is supported by advisors from NATO Training Mission-Iraq, who work closely with their Iraqi partners to develop the National Defence College of Iraq and to establish closer links with comparable international institutes across NATO and other nations to provide a firm foundation for long-term international engagement.(1)
The visit commenced with overview briefings on the NATO Defense College and the NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC). Lieutenant General Loeser highlighted the importance of strategic-level education for both military and civilian officials and congratulated Major General Ali and his course members on the developments at Iraq’s prestigious institute.
Lieutenant General Loeser then led a panel discussion, with the assistance of the College’s Middle East Faculty, Dr. Rolf Schwarz and Dr. Florence Gaub, and the director of the NRCC, Colonel Sandy Guptill. The open and frank discussion centered on the complexities of the current security environment and how NATO is changing to best meet them. Possibilities of further cooperation were discussed, and areas of similar activities explored.
After the discussion period, the group posed for a photo to preserve the memory of the historic visit between the two Colleges and then continued the discussion during a lunch at the NATO Defense College.
(1) From NTM-I official site http://93.63.251.100/ntmi/information/OETAB.html, accessed 17JUN2010.
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN