BRUSSELS, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is considering the plan to build a training center in the Middle East to train Iraqi security force, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said here on Thursday.

    If the plan goes smoothly, it will be the first training center for the Iraqi military officers NATO builds outside of Iraq.

    "The details are still being discussed, ... I'm in positive mood," De Hoop Scheffer told a press conference after the NATO defense ministers' meeting.

    He said the plan is still at its "early stage" and the NATO is still holding "consultations" on the initiative with some countries in the Middle East.

    The NATO chief did not notify which country would possibly host the training center.

    "It is too soon to get details," he said, adding that the mood within the 26-member bloc was "very positive".

    In September 2005, NATO officially opened a training centre for the Iraqi forces in the heavily-guarded Green Zone in the centre of Baghdad. Enditem