An estimated four million Iraqis are refugees. Almost half that number are displaced in Iraq itself. Sunnis were forced from Shiite areas. Shiites were evicted from Sunni neighborhoods. It was nothing less than sectarian cleansing and it is an issue that Iraq has been able to ignore – until now.

This summer, because of the relative calm that has descended across the country, an estimated 500,000 displaced Iraqis are expected to attempt a return to their homes. Many of those …

During Desert Storm, in 1991, I was embedded with U.S. Marines who had the difficult mission of punching a hole through the Iraq Army’s first defensive belt in southern Kuwait. Our unit, Task Force Taro, was expected to take heavy casualties, but instead of fighting, for the most part, Iraqi soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered. The told us they had not been resupplied for weeks. After suffering through constant aerial bombardment, hunger and fatigue, the Iraq’s troops had …

The past few weeks have seen a surge of suicide bombings in Iraq’s major cities. The bombers seemed to have aimed for maximum casualties, and they have succeeded. The attackers have targeted large gatherings of Shiite Moslems and their intent seems clear – to reignite sectarian violence as U.S. forces proceed with plans to withdraw from Iraq’s cities.

After two years of steadily declining violence, is Iraq set to return to the “bad old days”? I believe it will not. …

Lt. Colonel Samuel Hayes and his soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard are assigned a tough neighborhood – Abu Ghraib. Home of the infamous prison and considered sympathetic to insurgents, Abu Ghraib remains suspicious of Americans and Iraqi government security forces.  Two weeks ago a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in the town’s market. Many were killed and injured. The Iraqi Army descended with a show of force that some of the towns residents said was heavy-handed.

This week …