NATO chief: Troop deployment not always best anti-terror option
The US-led NATO says troop deployment by the military alliance is not always the best anti-terror option as “the best way” is to enable local forces to fight terrorism, a day after US President Donald Trump called on other NATO members to take on a larger role in the Middle East.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg made the remarks on Thursday in reaction to Trump’s call on the alliance to “become much more involved” in the volatile region.
“I strongly believe that the best way we can fight international terrorism is not always by deploying NATO troops in big combat operations,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference.
He pointed to training missions run by NATO in Afghanistan and Iraq, where some 500 forces of the alliance have been deployed to purportedly train local troops.
“The best way is to enable local forces to fight terrorism themselves, and that is exactly what we do in Afghanistan, what we do in Iraq, and of course we can look into if we can do more of that kind of activity,” he added.
It is not yet clear how the 70-year-old alliance, whose role has been defined to be focused on Europe and North America, might boost its role in the Middle East.
Stoltenberg on Thursday refused to speculate in detail on the possible “larger role” NATO has been called on to play in the region, but stressed that any changes would be made following consultation with all 29 member states of the alliance as well as countries in the Middle East.
The development came after Trump directly ordered the assassination of the Middle East's most prominent anti-terror commander, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in a drone airstrike near Baghdad airport in the early hours of Friday.
The assassination prompted Iran to take revenge by pouring more than a dozen ballistic missiles on two military bases housing US troops in Iraq early on Tuesday.
Following the assassination, NATO suspended its training mission in Iraq over security fears.
Furthermore, some of the allied troops attached to the mission have been withdrawn from in the Arab country for their safety. However, the NATO chief has already described the move as a temporary measure.
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