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Jordan Islamists urge government to reject NATO request

Arab World Materials 10 March 2010 00:08 (UTC +04:00)
Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood movement on Tuesday called on the government to reject a request by the NATO alliance to train the Afghan army.
Jordan Islamists urge government to reject NATO request

Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood movement on Tuesday called on the government to reject a request by the NATO alliance to train the Afghan army.

"We hope Jordan will not respond to such calls because such a move will push Jordan into conflicts which it has nothing to do with and will endanger its security and safety," leader Hammam Saeed said in a statement posted on the group's website, dpa reported.

During a visit to Jordan last week, the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen praised Jordan's training of Iraqi troops and police forces after the downfall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003 and urged Amman to perform a similar role in Afghanistan.

"We are very grateful that Jordan has offered similar assistance with the training of Afghan National Security Forces, and I hope that we can soon formalise our cooperation in this area," Rasmussen said in speech at the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy.

The Jordanian government has reportedly received an official request from Rasmussen to contribute to the training of the Afghan army but has not yet replied.

Jordan has about 90 military personnel in Afghanistan, thus becoming the only Arab country to make such public contribution to the war-torn Islamic country.

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