Iraq seeks more coalition trainers for local police
Senior U.S. defense and military officials say that Iraq’s prime minister is asking the coalition for more police training, particularly for Sunnis who will have to secure Ramadi and other towns once Islamic State militants are ousted.
The prime minister made his request during talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter last week at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
Coalition airstrikes aided Iraqi security forces in retaking Ramadi last month. Iraq’s trained local police then moved in to secure the town. The U.S. officials say the local police were able to take over more quickly than initially anticipated, allowing more skilled Iraqi security and counterterrorism forces to move on to other operations.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the private conversation publicly. AP
Poland welcomes increased British military presence
Polish and British defense officials say there are plans for a stronger British military presence in Poland to reassure members on NATO’s eastern flank concerned about Russia’s resurgence.
But Warsaw and London are giving mixed messages on the exact nature of Britain’s involvement.
Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said in a broadcast late Jan. 21 that there will be a “permanent presence” of some 1,000 British troops in Poland starting next year.
But Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Jan. 22 that Britain will send 1,000 troops to exercises in Poland this year and 1,000 to join a Polish-led NATO high-readiness task force in 2020. The task force will be led by a different NATO country every year, so the British commitment to Poland would just be for 2020.
Macierewicz’s comments came after he held talks in Edinburgh with British Defense Minister Michael Fallon and the two declared their cooperation in strengthening NATO’s eastern flank.
Poland, a former Soviet satellite state, has been seeking a greater presence of NATO troops on its soil in light of Russian actions in Ukraine, and hopes to achieve new commitments at a NATO summit in Warsaw in July.
Fallon, in an interview with Polish state media Wednesday, said Britain plans to increase the number of troops it sends regularly to Poland.
“We are looking at a more persistent presence in Poland, so there is almost a continuous rotation of British army units in Poland and visits by our ships,” Mallon said.
Attempts by the AP to get further details Jan. 22 from the Polish Defense Ministry were unsuccessful. AP