Even the lower post-cold-war recruiting targets have proved hard to hit.

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Despite the fact that a Marine's monetary reward is negligible, the Marines are the only one of our military services that, even in a time of war, consistently exceeds recruiting targets.

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Finally, the navy's funding of a celebration commemorating the War of 1812 is simply a small fraction of an annual recruiting budget.

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They have been making preparations for months, if not years, assembling stocks of medicines and recruiting many well-trained doctors who have field experience from the Iran-Iraq war or the Gulf war.

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During the Iraq war, Zarqawi's top aides in Syria played a critical role in recruiting, funding and operational planning outside Iraq.

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It would put question-marks next to Mr Bush's judgment in recruiting him in the first place and next to the administration's wider strategy in the war on terror.

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