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U.S. SEEKS TO BLOCK WMD THROUGH AMMAN

AMMAN [MENL] -- The United States has intensified an effort to block the flow of weapons of mass destruction components through Jordan.

Officials said the United States has been training and equipping Jordanian personnel at the port of Aqaba and border land points to examine cargo from such countries as Iraq, Iran and those in the Gulf Cooperation Council states. They said Washington wants to ensure that Jordan could detect and capture WMD meant for Al Qaida or other clients in the region.

Aqaba was regarded as a leading port of entry for the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq until 2002. Components for Saddam's military and WMD program were said to have come through Aqaba and then by land to Iraq.

Officials acknowledged that a large number of Iraqi WMD-related facilities has disappeared over the last 18 months. They said some of these facilities were believed to have been smuggled to neighboring Jordan and might have been offered for sale to Islamic insurgency groups.

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