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Iraq Builds Up Military, Police Forces

The explosion blows open the entrance to a darkened warehouse. A half dozen commandos rush in, swiftly moving from room to room as they search for the hostage-takers. The sharp rattle of gunfire follows.Then a smiling Iraqi commander emerges, holding up a life-size cardboard cutout of a mock terrorist holding a woman hostage, his head riddled with multiple bullet holes. Watching the ‘live-fire’ exercise by an Iraqi military commando squad, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the American commander charged with training Iraq’s security forces, nodded in approval: “They’re good. These are the guys who are going to get us home.”Full Story