NATO Is Grappling With Trump’s Call For a Bigger Mideast Role by Jonathan Stearns - Bloomberg
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is debating President Donald Trump’s plea to take on a bigger Middle East role, according to the alliance’s head.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg signaled the focus of NATO’s deliberations is on non-combat missions, like training, in countries such as Iraq. Earlier this month, Trump said “the scope of NATO should be increased” in the Middle East to tackle terrorist threats.
“We are now discussing what does that mean,” Stoltenberg told a European Parliament committee in Brussels on Tuesday. “The issue that we are looking into is not whether we can launch new combat operations. The issue is whether we can do something that prevents us from being forced into new combat. Prevention is better than intervention.”…