(Aug 22) More than 500 Iraqi men have joined the police in Anbar province — the most violent area of the Sunni Arab insurgency — in what military leaders called the most successful recruiting drive in the region ever by U.S. and Iraqi forces…
U.S. Marines screened thousands of applicants earlier this month in various regions along the western Euphrates River valley before shortlisting the recruits for the Anbar police academy. Maj. Lowell Rector, head of the police transition team for RCT-7, attributed the success to consistent pay for recruits and better police equipment.
Iraq’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that terrorist activities have declined by 70 percent since U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a revamped security crackdown in the capital on Aug. 14 with a reinforcement of 12,000 troops. It said 14 terrorists and 439 suspects have been detained since the launch of the operation. (Associated Press)