seruriermarshal
06-17-2004, 11:09 AM
Second group of Iraqi officers graduate in Jordan amid carnage in Baghdad
ZARQA, Jordan (AFP) Jun 17, 2004
A fresh batch of Iraqi officers graduated from an 11-week training course in Jordan Thursday as a suicide bomber killed 35 people at the gates of the New Iraqi Army recruiting station in Baghdad.
"The critical circumstances witnessed by Iraq nowadays require your sincere and hard efforts," Brigadier General Ahmad al-Farajat said in a speech to the 843 graduates, without mentioning the early morning attack.
"You are carrying the flags of your country and army, keeping in mind the security of your home and people with a sole slogan: no territoriality, no tribalism," the Jordanian director of the training programme said.
Thursday's graduates were the second batch of Iraqi officers to undergo the 11-week course at the King Abdullah I Infantry School in Zarqa, just north of Amman, since the programme got under way earlier this year.
The course is part of US-led plans to create, by September 30, a 35,000-strong force, including some 1,400 officers, led by Washington-trained Iraqi generals. The force is mainly funded by the United States.
A first group of 548 officers graduated in March.
Thursday's graduation was attended by senior coalition forces and senior Jordanian army officers, as well as assistant Iraqi chief of staff, Major General Mohan Hafez Fheid.
Units of the graduating officers carried out riot control and shooting exercises before being handed their diplomas ahead of their return to Iraq, where violence has spiralled before the planned June 30 transfer to self-rule.
Early Thursday, 35 people were killed and 138 wounded, in the latest attack aimed at sowing chaos in the country, reflecting the formidable task that lies ahead for the new army.
The attack carried out by a suicide car bomber occurred outside an army recruitment base in Baghdad, targeting many of the volunteers who had been queuing to sign up to join the New Iraqi Army.
A US military spokesman said the bombing bore all the hallmarks of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a fugitive Jordanian Islamist whom the coalition accuses of masterminding Al-Qaeda operations in Iraq.
The course in Jordan comprised classes in basic military training, special command and special staff courses.
The officers also received training in different areas, including security organisation, the army's role in internal security, democracy, peacekeeping operations, military law and terrorism, Farjat said in his speech.
"We are all confident that they will work together to achieve... security and stability of a unified Iraq we all aspire to see in the near future," he said.
From (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040617140724.0xe8p1rl.html)
ZARQA, Jordan (AFP) Jun 17, 2004
A fresh batch of Iraqi officers graduated from an 11-week training course in Jordan Thursday as a suicide bomber killed 35 people at the gates of the New Iraqi Army recruiting station in Baghdad.
"The critical circumstances witnessed by Iraq nowadays require your sincere and hard efforts," Brigadier General Ahmad al-Farajat said in a speech to the 843 graduates, without mentioning the early morning attack.
"You are carrying the flags of your country and army, keeping in mind the security of your home and people with a sole slogan: no territoriality, no tribalism," the Jordanian director of the training programme said.
Thursday's graduates were the second batch of Iraqi officers to undergo the 11-week course at the King Abdullah I Infantry School in Zarqa, just north of Amman, since the programme got under way earlier this year.
The course is part of US-led plans to create, by September 30, a 35,000-strong force, including some 1,400 officers, led by Washington-trained Iraqi generals. The force is mainly funded by the United States.
A first group of 548 officers graduated in March.
Thursday's graduation was attended by senior coalition forces and senior Jordanian army officers, as well as assistant Iraqi chief of staff, Major General Mohan Hafez Fheid.
Units of the graduating officers carried out riot control and shooting exercises before being handed their diplomas ahead of their return to Iraq, where violence has spiralled before the planned June 30 transfer to self-rule.
Early Thursday, 35 people were killed and 138 wounded, in the latest attack aimed at sowing chaos in the country, reflecting the formidable task that lies ahead for the new army.
The attack carried out by a suicide car bomber occurred outside an army recruitment base in Baghdad, targeting many of the volunteers who had been queuing to sign up to join the New Iraqi Army.
A US military spokesman said the bombing bore all the hallmarks of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a fugitive Jordanian Islamist whom the coalition accuses of masterminding Al-Qaeda operations in Iraq.
The course in Jordan comprised classes in basic military training, special command and special staff courses.
The officers also received training in different areas, including security organisation, the army's role in internal security, democracy, peacekeeping operations, military law and terrorism, Farjat said in his speech.
"We are all confident that they will work together to achieve... security and stability of a unified Iraq we all aspire to see in the near future," he said.
From (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040617140724.0xe8p1rl.html)