BRUSSELS, Belgium - NATO (news - web sites) diplomats approved on Friday a detailed outline of their plan to send around 300 military instructors to Iraq (news - web sites) following talks with the U.S. general leading the drive to rebuild the country's armed forces.
Ambassadors from the 26 NATO nations quickly adopted a "concept of operations" for the mission to set up an military officers' academy outside Baghdad, allowing experts to draw up final plans to start the mission.
Allies gave U.S. Lt. Gen. David Petraeus immediate command of the NATO training mission — which began in August with the deployment of about 40 officers.
Petraeus said NATO's contribution will fill an important gap in the much larger U.S. mission to rebuild Iraqi forces of 250,000. He acknowledged the difficulties of that task amid the violence........more........
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