Jordan Times
Friday, September 3, 2004
Women soldiers conclude two months of training in Jordan
ZARQA (AP) — As part of the rebuilding of the
Iraqi army, 38 women soldiers ended two month's training at the Jordanian
Military Academy in Zarqa on Thursday.
Also Thursday, the first batch of eight pilots and five engineers completed a
two-month training course in Jordan. They will form the nucleus of the new Iraqi
air force.
The 38 women had received intensive training from Jordanian women soldiers in
combat, counterterrorism tactics, driving and other military tasks. It was not
clear what role they would play in the new Iraqi army. During the previous
regime, women were trained in combat but not sent into battle.
The women also studied democracy, human rights, patriotism and the army's role
in development at Jordan's Zarqa Military Academy, 27 kilometres northeast of
Amman.
So far, about 1,650 Iraqi soldiers, including other women, have taken part in
such courses in Jordan under an agreement between Jordan and the United States.
In addition, some 3,500 Iraqi police officers have been trained in Jordan.
Jordan has undertaken to train 32,000 Iraqi police officers over two years.
The US has been accused of contributing to chaos by dismantling the Iraqi army
after overthrowing the former Iraqi regime. Critics say the dismantling resulted
in angering hundreds of trained, armed men and leaving them idle. The US has
pledged to build a new, smaller force to defend Iraq.