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SAUDIS LAUNCH MILITARY TRAINING PROGRAM
Saudi Arabia has launched a program to bolster its military and security forces amid the intensifying threats from Al Qaida and neighboring Iran. Saudi officials said the kingdom has drafted a plan for the training of tens of thousands of Saudi high school students that would prepare them for the military and National Guard. The sources said the plan has been approved by the Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry and would be implemented during 2004. Under the plan, the kingdom intends to train 10,000 high school students a year in both military and technical courses. Officials said the project would cost about 270 million riyals [$70 million] a year. They said the project aims to continue through 2008. The training would seek to improve the technical skills of the students so that they could replace foreigners in both the military and defense industry. The Saudi military and National Guard have large numbers of foreigners, including Egyptians, Pakistanis as well as Western instructors.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2004-01-11 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=24113 |