02:01Belgium: NATO’s Stoltenberg welcomes Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein to Brussels on war anniversary
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels on Monday, the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war.
Both sides explained that they had shared talks aimed at strengthening ties between the defensive alliance and Baghdad in the fight against ‘national terrorism’.
“Our meeting today is a way for us to take stock and to exchange views on how we can further strengthen our partnership, how we can do more together,” the NATO chief explained.
Stoltenberg went on to thank the Iraqi side for its commitment to regional security, saying NATO would continue to stand with the Middle Eastern country through NATO Mission Iraq.
“We are glad that we can continue to work together because we know that the fight against terrorism is something that matters for you and you have paid a high price in that fight,” the NATO chief said.
“We will stand with you and we will continue to work with Iraq in promoting stability and fighting national terrorism. So once again, I welcome you,” he continued.
In turn, Hussein hailed the relationship shared between his government and the defensive alliance and applauded the NATO mission for its advisory work in Baghdad.
“I think the relationship is quite good and it’s improving,” he said. “I would like to register my thanks to NATO members and the NATO mission in Baghdad. They are doing a great job training our people and we are hoping that we can widen this task to other fields and we are ready to discuss about that.”
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although other groups estimate the total number could be higher.
This was preceded by a series of developments that eventually led to the US deploying its military in the Arab country. On January 28, George Bush addressed the nation, making it clear that the US military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein was only a matter of time.
02:01Mandatory credit: NATO TV
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels on Monday, the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war.
Both sides explained that they had shared talks aimed at strengthening ties between the defensive alliance and Baghdad in the fight against ‘national terrorism’.
“Our meeting today is a way for us to take stock and to exchange views on how we can further strengthen our partnership, how we can do more together,” the NATO chief explained.
Stoltenberg went on to thank the Iraqi side for its commitment to regional security, saying NATO would continue to stand with the Middle Eastern country through NATO Mission Iraq.
“We are glad that we can continue to work together because we know that the fight against terrorism is something that matters for you and you have paid a high price in that fight,” the NATO chief said.
“We will stand with you and we will continue to work with Iraq in promoting stability and fighting national terrorism. So once again, I welcome you,” he continued.
In turn, Hussein hailed the relationship shared between his government and the defensive alliance and applauded the NATO mission for its advisory work in Baghdad.
“I think the relationship is quite good and it’s improving,” he said. “I would like to register my thanks to NATO members and the NATO mission in Baghdad. They are doing a great job training our people and we are hoping that we can widen this task to other fields and we are ready to discuss about that.”
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although other groups estimate the total number could be higher.
This was preceded by a series of developments that eventually led to the US deploying its military in the Arab country. On January 28, George Bush addressed the nation, making it clear that the US military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein was only a matter of time.