Iraq army recruitment to hit mark

The general in charge of training the much-needed Iraq army and police said yesterday that the final target of 325,000 personnel will be met before the end of this month, with "dramatic improvement" in performance envisioned by July.

"The sooner we can give Iraqis responsibility for the security of their own country, the better off we're gong to be," said Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey.

His assessment comes as President Bush weighs options for changing strategy and tactics for 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq as a surge of violence threatens to drag parts of the country into chaos.