Iraqi Police Recruitment Effort Hailed

(RFE/RL) August 22, 2006 -- The U.S. military today said that more than 500 Iraqi men have joined the police in western Iraq's Al-Anbar Governorate, an area wracked by insurgency.

The military released a statement saying that it was the most successful recruiting drive by U.S. and Iraqi forces in the province.

The military says if all the 500 recruits stay on, Al-Anbar will have more than 2,200 working police. There is a high desertion rate among Iraqi security forces.

(AP)