Austria is still waiting for a response from NATO on the Iraq mission
Several months after an offer was made to NATO, the planned deployment of the armed forces in Iraq is still pending. As the Ministry of Defense informed the APA on request, the Austrian interest “has not yet been finally answered and therefore no decision can yet be made”. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) said in July that Austria was ready to send “at least ten – if necessary more” soldiers.
NATO announced in February that it would gradually increase its Iraqi deployment from 500 to 4,000 soldiers. Austria will also take part. The future direction and possible expansion of the mission is also dependent on political decisions after the parliamentary elections and the formation of a new government in Iraq, said ministry spokesman Michael Bauer.
Austria would participate “in principle” with “advisory staff”, although it had a corresponding “expertise and acceptance” due to its participation in UN operations in the Golan (Syria) and in Lebanon over a period of ten years.
Criticism of the SPÖ
SPÖ defense spokesman Robert Laimer criticized Tanner’s Iraq plans at the weekend. “The failed foreign policy of the USA is neither worthy nor conducive to a neutral country,” wrote Laimer in a broadcast. Ministry spokesman Bauer countered this by stating that participation in the Iraq mission “is part of Austria’s long, foreign policy tradition and our special close and trusting relationship” with the countries of the Near and Middle East.
Laimer had also criticized the fact that Austria is currently only involved with one representative in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) special observation mission (SMM) in Ukraine. Austria should be “much more involved in the OSCE observer mission in Ukraine,” said the opposition MP.