NATO agrees to train Iraqi forces, add peacekeepers in Afghanistan

The decision gives NATO its first presence on the ground in Iraq.
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- NATO leaders agreed to help train Iraq's armed forces, responding to a request from the incoming Iraqi government.
"We have decided today to offer NATO's assistance to the government of Iraq with the training of its security forces," said a statement today adopted in the opening session of the NATO summit.
The decision came hours after the United States transferred power in the country to the Iraqi administration.
A statement called on alliance officials to "urgently" discuss details of the training plan with the Iraqi authorities. NATO said it would also urgently consider "further proposals to support the nascent Iraqi security institutions."
Afghanistan
Also, alliance leaders agreed to expand the NATO peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, raising the level of troops to 10,000 during the September elections from the current 6,500.
"Contributing to peace and stability in Afghanistan is NATO's key priority," the leaders said on the opening day of their summit.
Officials said the expansion would include four more permanent peacekeeping teams deployed in northern cities, as well as a temporary increase in troops levels to provide security during the elections.
The alliance peacekeeping mission is currently limited to the capital, Kabul and the northern city of Kunduz.
A first
The number of NATO instructors to be deployed and the timing of the operation were unclear, but the move will give NATO a military presence on the ground in Iraq for the first time. Sixteen nations have sent troops individually to join coalition forces in Iraq.
President Bush declared Sunday in Turkey that the alliance was poised to "meet the threats of the 21st century."
Earlier Sunday, Bush sought to strengthen ties with vital ally Turkey, a task complicated by threats from Iraqi militants to decapitate three Turks unless the country's companies stop aiding U.S. forces in Iraq.
Protest
Turks overwhelmingly opposed the war in Iraq. Bush, who arrived in the country Saturday, is widely unpopular here -- more than 40,000 Turks turned out for a peaceful protest Sunday against his visit and the NATO summit.
Police used tear gas today to stop hundreds of protesters from approaching the conference center where NATO leaders were meeting in Istanbul.
The protesters threw fire-bombs and several police and protesters were injured and were evacuated to local hospitals.
With Bush in town and NATO leaders gathering, Turkish security forces sealed off a large sections of Istanbul amid fears of terrorist attacks and violent protests. Fighter planes flew overhead and 23,000 police and security forces patrolled the streets.
"We have shown that were are firmly resolved to confront risks and threats to our security well beyond NATO's traditional zone of operation," said alliance Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as the leaders prepared to confirm the decision on training Iraq's forces.
However, the decision falls well short of U.S. hopes that NATO would assume a major military role in Iraq, perhaps by taking over the multinational-division currently run by Poland.
Opposition from France and Germany has ensured that NATO won't deploy large numbers of troops and differences persist between those nations and the United States over the implementation of the training program.
While Washington foresees a significant NATO involvement, including the setting up of an alliance command in Iraq, Paris and Berlin prefer a lower profile operation, with NATO coordinating national training programs.
Both France and Germany said they prefer to help with training officers outside the country. The United States hopes the training mission could be the first step to a wider NATO role.
The summit is also set to offer a new program of defense cooperation to Middle Eastern nations, agree to hand over peacekeeping in Bosnia to the European Union and set up permanent NATO diplomatic missions in Central Asia and the Caucasus.