Bill Roggio on patrol with the Iraqi army.

Another dispatch from Bill Roggio of The Fourth Rail, this time on patrol with the Iraqi army in Fallujah.

The importance of local knowledge caught my eye.

The Iraqi soldier's ability to develop local intelligence networks, understand the language and culture and know the lay of the land far outweighs any tactical deficiencies they may have. “They can tell who's not from the area – who's from Mosul, or Tikrit or Ramadi – just by their accent, and they can tell when someone's lying,” said [US marine] Cpl Burcell.

I hope I am not misreading Roggio but, once again, but I get the impression from a report by somebody actually on the ground that, however slowly and painfully, Iraq is moving in a positive direction.

Tags: Bill Roggio, Fallujah, Iraq, The Fourth Rail