Official: U.S. to train Iraqi opposition

SPECIAL REPORT •  War Tracker •  On the Scene Map •  Commanders: U.S. | Iraq •  Weapons: 3D Models •  Coalition casualties | POW/MIA •  Special Report

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration is preparing to provide military training for up to 10,000 members of the Iraqi opposition, a State Department official confirmed to CNN.

It is in the words of this official, a "significant step" that began a couple of months ago.

"Nobody envisions an armed force of 10,000 charging into Iraq," said the official, who has knowledge of ongoing discussions within the Bush administration.

The official said that when President Bush approves the move, the United States intends to train members of the Iraqi opposition to play "support roles," such as:

Officials said funding for the training program will come from the $97 million Congress allocated in the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act to support efforts toward establishing a democratic Iraq.

"I can't talk about any specific plans because we really haven't settled on any specific plans at this point," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. "There's no real decisions on this. As I think all you know, there's been some money available under the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998."

Boucher said he believed that only $1 million of the fund has been used in the past.

"We're considering how we might expand the training and increase the level of effort," Boucher said. "In the past we've trained about 140 opposition members in things like medical care, logistics, public outreach and that sort of thing."

Father guilty of killing 9 of his children • Helicopter crashes near U.N. • Arrest in Aruba missing girl case • FDA panel OKs drug aimed at blacks

CNN/Money: Security alert issued for 40 million credit cards • Bin Laden deputy sends message • U.S. House votes to keep U.N. dues • Iran poll to go to run-off