Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=4/06/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ/FOREIGNERS/PACE (S-O)

NUMBER=2-301841

BYLINE=JESSICA BERMAN

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=

///// MAY BE USED AS ALTERNATE TO WILKISON'S IRAQ/US BRIEFING/FOREIGNERS, CR2-301832 /////

INTRO: A senior U-S military official in Washington is dismissing the military significance of the reported presence in Iraq of foreign fighters. V-O-A's Jessica Berman reports, the comments followed reports from the U-S military in the Gulf that U-S forces have killed or captured fighters from Egypt and Sudan, as well as other countries.

TEXT: Appearing on the N-B-C network television program "Meet the Press," Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace was asked what he knew about the foreign fighters in Iraq.

/// PACE ACTUALITIES ///

I have heard reports in the hundreds, but it is not militarily significant. ... If they join the fight, they will die.

/// END ACT ///

Military officials at U-S Central Command headquarters in Qatar say they they have evidence foreign fighters may have been trained at a camp southeast of Baghdad. Brigadier General Vince Brooks told reporters in Doha, U-S forces found evidence of military training in Iraq, increasing the likelihood of links between Iraq and terrorist organizations. (SIGNED)

NEB/JB/TW/RAE