September 2002: Anabasis Team Begins Training in Nevada Desert

The CIA’s Anabasis operatives begin training in the Nevada Desert at the Energy Department’s nuclear test site. About 80 Iraqis take part in the training. They name their squad Scorpions 77 Alpha after a special forces unit Saddam had disbanded. A second team comprised of about 15 Arab fighters, mostly Egyptians and Lebanese, also train at the site. [Isikoff and Corn, 2006, pp. 153-156]