Iraq Commander: Coalition to Reconsider Iraqi Army Pay After Desertions

The U.S.-led coalition will reconsider the pay scale for members of the new Iraqi army after about half of the recruits deserted, the U.S. general in charge of Iraqi military operations said Saturday. But he said the setbacks shouldn't harm the overall goal of training 40,000 members of light infantry battalions by next October. That contradicts reports that the U.S. military had scaled back that goal.

ed: hat tip Mildred