NATO countries clinched a deal this evening to start training Iraqi security forces next month
after a US-French clash over whether the trainers should come under US-led coalition command was shelved, a senior diplomat said.
"There's a deal," a NATO spokesman said. The senior diplomat who requested anonymity said an advance mission would be sent to Baghdad next month and the command arrangements would be settled after it reported back in September.
The United States had demanded that the small NATO mission in Iraq should answer to the US-led Multinational Force to ensure its security and protection in a dangerous environment.
France had sought a delay, fearing NATO was being sucked into the Iraqi battlefield by the back door.