Posted on 01/29/2003 4:37:20 PM PST by chance33_98
Majar Herlab: First shift of exiled Iraqis arrive in Hungary for US training
Iraq-Hungary, Politics, 1/29/2003
The Hungarian Majar Herlab said yesterday that a first group including 500 Iraqis living in exile arrived on Sunday in Tashar military base to the south of the country to receive training on liaison missions with the American forces in case of war against Iraq.
The group will stay for at least two weeks and American military men in charge of training them will arrive on Friday at the base.
The Hungarian ministry of defense expected 1500 trainees to arrive in the base and the training to last for 90 says, for which the Pentagon allotted more than USD 9 million.
The American Gen. Robert Stern said that those Iraqi volunteers were "selected very carefully by the American government among members of the Iraqi opposition groups."
Describing those Iraqis, the American Gen. Said that "they are persons who want to return back to a free and democratic Iraqi state." He indicated that the "identity of those persons will not be disclosed because they might have relatives or friends in Iraq." However, both the American and Hungarian authorities have neither confirmed nor denied this information.
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