NATO's top diplomats have endorsed a plan to join the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, Stars and Stripes reported Wednesday.
President Donald Trump and other NATO heads of state must still formally approve the plan when they meet Thursday in Brussels, Belgium, but Wednesday's accord makes it virtually a done deal, the outlet reported, citing an unnamed source.
It is unclear what NATO's function will be, but it is not likely to be in combat.
"There has been no request for any NATO combat role, and there is no discussion at all about engaging NATO in a combat role in the counter-[ISIS] coalition," NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said before ambassadors approved joining the coalition, Stars and Stripes reported.
Instead, he said he expected allies to agree to a more robust surveillance campaign, and to ramp up its training program in Iraq, Stars and Stripes reported.
"[W]hat I think we have learned from Iraq, from Afghanistan, from Libya, and many other countries, is that one thing is the military combat operation, but perhaps more demanding in the long run is to stabilize after the combat operations have ended," Stoltenberg said, the outlet reported.
"That is what NATO is focusing on when we now are engaged in training, assisting and capacity building in Afghanistan, but also focus on that in, for instance, Iraq."
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