Iraq's New Army Recruits Sunni Arab Officers Who Served Hussein

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=afhnXDeYJKag&refer=us

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Iraq's new army has recruited 2,662 junior level officers who served under Saddam Hussein in an effort to add more Sunni Arabs as it increases the size of its security forces, according to U.S. military officials.

The goal is to recruit 3,000 of these officers by year's end, most of them Sunni Arab lieutenants and majors, and the results to date are encouraging, U.S. military officials say.

The return to the military of Sunni Arabs who once constituted Hussein's political power base -- along with successful elections and the growth in Iraqi security forces -- are cited as major barometers of progress.

These recruits ``have skills that certainly are valuable and beyond that, they need to feel like that they have an opportunity to participate in not only the day-to-day political life of Iraq, but also help provide for security,'' Lieutenant General John Vines, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq said Nov. 22 in a Pentagon press briefing.