wmd again

The AFP reports that the US wil spend up to $22 million dollars re-training Iraqi scientists in "peaceful civilian fields" US launches 22-million-dollar employment program for Iraqi WMD scientists is currently posted at Spacewar.com.

The United States on Thursday formally launched a two-year program that will spend up to 22 million dollars to employ former Iraqi weapons scientists in peaceful civilian fields.

The State Department said the program was aimed at keeping those scientists from selling their expertise to terrorist groups or rogue states and assisting the reconstruction of Iraq's shattered infrastructure and technology sector.

Washington File carries the full text of the announcement at U.S. to Fund "Redirection Training" for Former WMD Scientists in Iraq

The first step in a multi-stage process will be to establish a new, United States-funded office in Baghdad -- the Iraqi International Center for Science and Industry (IICSI). The Center will 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. Initial projects will focus on establishing priorities for future scientific work, training, and long-term cooperation between the United States and Iraqi scientific communities. These projects will begin within six months of the opening of the Center, and are expected to cost around $2 million, to be funded by the United States Nonproliferation Disarmament Fund (NDF).

So while preliminary funds will be $2 million, it looks to be a project that will grow in scope and cost.