Alwaght- “The increase in the number of NATO forces in Iraq is unjustified and the Iraqi security forces are capable of deterring any aggression against the country, and they have proven this during the war against Daesh,” Amer al-Faez, an Iraqi member of parliament, said Friday using the Arabic acronym for ISIS terrorist organization.
“Therefore, I do not see any need for the presence of any foreign troops, either from NATO or other forces,” he added.
Faez said the Iraqi parliament will inquire the government about its request for an increase in the number of NATO forces, and the reasons why it has circumvented the legislature in this regard, Iran’s Press TV reported.
On Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the end of a two-day virtual meeting of the Western military bloc that the alliance will expand its presence in Iraq gradually.
“The size of our mission will increase from 500 personnel to around 4,000 and training activities will now include more Iraqi security institutions and areas beyond Baghdad,” Stoltenberg said, going against a last year bill by the Iraqi parliament to expel all the foreign forces.
The Union of Muslim Scholars in Diyala said any increase in the number of NATO soldiers in Iraq is unacceptable.
"There is no justification for such a move, especially since our country has large forces capable of thwarting any terrorist attack that would undermine the security of people,” the union’s head, Jabbar al-Ma’mouri, told Arabic-language al-Maalomah news agency on Friday.
Many Iraqi officials warn that the US is struggling to keep its forces in Iraq under the flag of the NATO as it is the main foreign party asked by the parliamentary bill to pull out its forces.
The increase of the NATO forces will add to the risk of encounters with resistant Iraqi groups who insist that foreign forces must leave the country. In recent months, the US convoys, who are now recognized as “occupational” under the new Iraqi law, have come under attacks as Washington does not accept withdrawal.