Greetings from Baghdad

I've been on the ground for about a week. When I look at how much this place has changed from a year ago, I don't recognize it. I'll be primarily working alongside the Human Terrain Team, working with and mapping the tribes and ISF.

AQI is not even a shadow of what it was a year ago. They have no safe havens in this area, only a few bed-down areas they have to run through. The various Shi'a extremists are disaggregated badly. There are still some EFP networks and IED networks that manage to operate, but on a greatly reduced scale. IDF here was daily a year ago; I haven't encountered any, and talking to folks, it sounds like there's little anywhere.

There are still dangers, but what has been done here is amazing. I'll keep you informed as things come into the open sources, and are free to discuss.

- Grim

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