Turkey ready to train Iraqi army, says defense chief | World Defense

Turkey ready to train Iraqi army, says defense chief

Redheart

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Turkey ready to train Iraqi army, says defense chief Anadolu Agency

Turkey is ready to train the Iraqi army, Turkish defense minister has told the Iraqi authorities during an official visit to Baghdad.

"We are training peshmerga forces," Ismet Yilmaz said, recalling also the “train-and-equip” program run in cooperation with the United States for Syrian opposition forces.

“We told them [the Iraqi authorities] that the same applications can be applied also to the Iraqi armed forces”, Yilmaz told The Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview Thursday.

Iraq’s stability means stability for Turkey too, Yilmaz said, adding, "If there will be peace in this country [Iraq], Turkey will primarily benefit from this."

The minister said that Turkey supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq.

"This is a difficult period for Iraq," Yilmaz said, as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or Daesh, controls one-third of the country.

"In this difficult period, we will stand by the Iraqi government and people in the legitimate struggle against terrorism," he said.

Yilmaz said that Turkey had reached an agreement with Iraq to create a joint military technical committee in order to meet the needs of Iraqi army as soon as possible.

He also visited a camp in Iraq’s Kurdish regional government, where Turkish officers train peshmerga forces, the security forces of the autonomous Kurdish region.

"Turkey is a friend of Iraq and Kurdish regional government," Yilmaz said, adding that Ankara is supporting them and will continue doing so as long as the Iraqi government and the regional government request it.

The Iraqi army and Kurdish forces, in cooperation with local Shiite and Sunni militias, are waiting to initiate a major offensive against Daesh in the coming weeks to take the control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city.

Yilmaz said that his Iraqi counterpart Halit el-Ubeydi had told him that when the Mosul operation starts, about a million people will be forced to leave their homes and go towards northern Iraq.

"He requested Turkey’s humanitarian aid for those that will be forced to be replaced inside Iraq," Yilmaz said, adding: "We clearly stated that we will offer our help."

Iraq has plunged into a security vacuum since June 2014, when Daesh stormed the northern province of Mosul and declared what it called a caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

Daesh massacres and the massive displacement of local people led to the creation of an international coalition against the terror group. The U.S.-led coalition is staging airstrikes against Daesh targets in Iraq and Syria since mid-September 2014.

Iraqi security forces backed by Shiite militias launched a ground offensive against Daesh on Monday to recapture Tikrit city, aiming to approach the rebel group’s stronghold of Mosul. Tikrit, a Sunni-majority city, was the homeland of the deceased Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Speaking about Turkmens, Yilmaz said that Turkey has done more than any other country for them. "Our Turkmen brothers have been affected the most from the Daesh terror organization’s attacks," Yilmaz said.

Yilmaz said that in all meetings regarding national security the Turkish government has taken important decisions on helping Turkmens in Iraq.
 

timelord731

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I hope this can finally do some good against their common foe.
 

Redheart

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Common foe? There was a time ISIS deserters claimed that Turkey and ISIS were allies. Whether that was true I think what really offended the Turks was ISIS plans to desecrate the tomb of Turkish founding 'father.' All these offers to train armies, etc, etc don't help much. How long will the training take? If they are serious about defeating ISIS, they should actually send their troops in, fight the bastards and hopefully, kill them all.
 

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Common foe? There was a time ISIS deserters claimed that Turkey and ISIS were allies. Whether that was true I think what really offended the Turks was ISIS plans to desecrate the tomb of Turkish founding 'father.' All these offers to train armies, etc, etc don't help much. How long will the training take? If they are serious about defeating ISIS, they should actually send their troops in, fight the bastards and hopefully, kill them all.
I say the same thing about US. ;)

Our Prime minister said the same thing for numerous times; "If other countries are willing to their part, we will of course do our share."

Other than that there is no way that we would go and fight Daesh alone. We are not foot soldiers.
 

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I say the same thing about US. ;)

Our Prime minister said the same thing for numerous times; "If other countries are willing to their part, we will of course do our share."

Other than that there is no way that we would go and fight Daesh alone. We are not foot soldiers.

I have heard that Jordan is also going to contribute in the training of the Iraqi Army.
 

Sinan

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I have heard that Jordan is also going to contribute in the training of the Iraqi Army.
Well, we can train the Iraqi army... but you know, Iraqi central government has very close ties with Iran. You can see Qassem Suleimani all over Iraq.

So, i doubt Iraqis would take up the offer.
 

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Well, we can train the Iraqi army... but you know, Iraqi central government has very close ties with Iran. You can see Qassem Suleimani all over Iraq.

So, i doubt Iraqis would take up the offer.


Yes you are right but maybe in the long run the Iraq army can take its sectarian doctrine and throw it in the dustbin and learn how to shoulder the responsibility in securing the country and make it a place where all Iraqis regardless of religious background can live in peace and harmony.
 

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Yes you are right but maybe in the long run the Iraq army can take its sectarian doctrine and throw it in the dustbin and learn how to shoulder the responsibility in securing the country and make it a place where all Iraqis regardless of religious background can live in peace and harmony.

Hopefully, that's what i wish for.
 
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