Text: U.S. to Fund "Redirection Training" for Former WMD Scientists in Iraq

The State Department December 18 announced a 2-year program to support the peaceful, civilian employment of Iraqi scientists, technicians and engineers formerly working on weapons of mass destruction programs and to discourage emigration of this community from Iraq.

The United States will fund a new office in Baghdad -- the Iraqi International Center for Science and Industry (IICSI) -- to identify needs and provide funding for specific scientific projects that use the expertise of personnel formerly involved in Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs.

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said in a statement that the program has "two mutually reinforcing goals: to keep Iraqi scientists from providing their expertise to countries of concern; and to enable them to serve in the economic and technological rebuilding of Iraq."

According to a fact sheet, the program will include workshops on establishing science, technology and engineering priorities for national reconstruction and will fund research on the potential use of modern desalination technology to tackle Iraq's water problems. The U.S. Nonproliferation Disarmament Fund will provide $2 million to support IICSI projects.