Washington seeks to train 5,000 Iraqi opposition in Hungary

The spokesman for the Hungarian government said yesterday that Washington asked permission to use a military base to the south of Budapest to train American soldiers and employees in preparation for war against Iraq. The spokesman refused to comment on a report published by the ABC news concerning an American plan to train 5,000 Iraqi opposition members so as to be able to work as simultaneous translators in case a war takes place against Iraq.

He said that the Hungarian government is currently studying the American request and that the parliament will have the final say to this effect. The said TV station said that the Pentagon will start training in Hungary or another European state on the ground the trainees will be considered a staff for the US department of State.

Meantime, an official at the US embassy in Budapest refused to comment on this matter and described it as "sensitive." But the Hungarian expert in the political security, Sebstein Gorka, said that the "American request is not applicable politically," because the Hungarian government fears that such training will cause terrorist attacks against the country.