(In the green shirts kneeling are Specialist Joe Habecker and Sergeant Bruce Kleckner, standing are Sergeant Tony Allsop, yours truly, and Specialist Brian Salisbury)

On June 30 American Forces officially pulled out of major cities in Iraq. This is really the first test to see if the last 6 years of fighting has made a lasting impact. The Iraqis report over 650,000 soldiers in their forces and most of us here believe they are going to need every one of them to pacify this country. While the insurgency has been weakened severely it is far from dead and attacks still occur albeit with less frequency.

During my last tour of Iraq I was a part of a military transition team (MTT) which operated in the restive city of Ramadi. The job of a MTT team is to live with, fight with, train, and advise the Iraqi military. Of course there were ebbs and flows in the training, but the Iraqis had a strong core of good officers and some enlisted to build on. The Iraqis have been fighting for a long time, and their soldiers are certainly tough, however the commitment of their leadership to this country will ultimately make the difference here.

The Iraqi government and military have been plagued by corruption and subversion. There have been several instances where al-Qaeda and other operatives have infiltrated the Iraqi Army in order to gain intelligence about our operations. Some of these instances have resulted in the death of American and Iraqi soldiers and has made some of our troops leery of dealing with certain elements of the Iraqi government. It's my belief that while these problems are real, the vast majority of the Iraqi Forces just want to do their job, earn a paycheck and go home to their families.

After all of the articles, essays, and books I've read about Iraq, I remain optimistic about the chances the Iraqis have to stabilize this country. During 2006-2007 the people in Iraq saw what al-Qaeda's vision for Iraq was all about. It was a bloody war in the streets to bring everyone under their thumb. While the people in Iraq are ready for us to let them stand on their own two feet, I think they generally understand that they have an opportunity. This is the first chance they've ever had to elect their leaders and to determine their own future. While the success of this entire war is still uncertain, I'd like to believe that the sacrifices made by so many of us will account for the betterment of the world.