Iraqi colonel flees military training in Alabama

[Syrinx]

An Iraqi air force colonel disappeared recently from an Alabama Air Force base and is being sought in a regional manhunt by federal and military agents, defense officials say.

The colonel, who was not identified, was studying at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, near Montgomery, since last winter in a leadership training course that is part of U.S. efforts to rebuild the Iraqi air force.

The officer disappeared along with his family, who were living either on the base or in the Montgomery area. He left a note stating that he was leaving the yearlong military course because he did not want to return to war-torn Iraq, said officials familiar with the case.

Air Force spokesman Capt. Tom Wenz declined to comment when asked whether the Iraqi posed a national-security risk or whether he may be linked to insurgents or terrorists. He referred calls to the Homeland Security Department and the Iraqi Embassy in Washington.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070321-113339-3447r.htm