Posted on 12/18/2002 1:09:32 PM PST by knighthawk
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary gave the United States permission Wednesday to train Iraqi opposition members at a Hungarian air base for possible deployment in their homeland.
Government spokesman Zoltan J. Gal said the first trainees could arrive as early as January at the Taszar air base 120 southeast of Budapest. The United States has permission to train up to 3,000 personnel of Iraqi or other Arab origin now living in Europe or the United States and attached to the U.S. military, Gal said.
President Bush has vowed to use force against Saddam Hussein if Baghdad is found to have weapons of mass destruction or programs in place to develop them.
U.N. inspectors in Iraq are trying to find any evidence of such weapons or programs as U.N. Security Council members review a 12,000-page weapons declaration from Iraq. U.S. officials said privately that Bush considers the report inadequate.
The permission to use the base is valid for the whole of 2003 but only for two rounds of training lasting no longer than 90 days each, Gal said. In addition to the trainees, a support staff of 1,000 will be allowed to use the base.
Under the agreement, trainees will not be allowed to leave the base and may not take part in any military action against Iraq originating in Hungary, Gal said.
Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs told parliament on Tuesday that the training would concentrate on developing interpreting skills, civilian-military relations, administrative skills and the use of small-arms.
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