London ? The United States has accepted 1,000 Iraqi exiles for military training as guides and go-betweens for U.S. forces in a war with Iraq, a contingent that exile leaders hope will grow into the core of a new Iraqi army after President Saddam Hussein is ousted, Iraqis familiar with the training program said Tuesday.

The list of those picked for an initial round of training was delivered by Pentagon officials who met with Iraqi opposition groups here on the sidelines of a four-day conference for Democracy and Salvation of Iraq, which concluded Tuesday.

Training is scheduled to begin soon, an Iraqi National Congress official said, and will take place under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army’s European Command. The Bush administration has asked Hungary, a NATO ally, to have the training at Taszar air base, 120 southwest of Budapest, where U.S. forces were staged during peacekeeping operations in Bosnia.