Norway may prolong Iraq deployment
In addition to the about 150 Norwegian engineer soldiers who are stationed outside Basra, Norway has a total of ten staff officers stationed with the British and the Polish forces.
«We have gotten indications from the Ministry of Defense that they are considered to continue for the rest of the year,» said Thom Knustad, press officer at Fellesoprativt headquarters, to TV 2 Nettavisen.
Powell:
From a military standpoint the officers will not make much of a difference, but politically the contribution may mean a lot for the occupational forces. US Secretary of State Colin Powel recently asked in an interview with the Norwegian television channel NRK that Norway left their soldiers in Iraq. The request was denied by Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen, who stressed that the Norwegian soldiers will return home when their commission ends June 30, but Petersen did not say anything regarding whether or not the government considers letting the officers remain in the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very reluctant to comment on the future status of the Norwegian soldiers in Iraq.
«Their commission ends July 1, and they are going home, but if that means that we are going to have zero Norwegians in Iraq is another matter,» said one source.
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