November 30, 2007

Research to Reduce Bloodshed

By MARCUS B. GRIFFIN

I step carefully along the broken sidewalk, struggling to keep pace with the soldiers around me. The streets of the neighborhood of Old Baghdad are completely dark and largely deserted. We are on our way to visit with an influential local sheik. At last, we come upon a large house surrounded by razor wire and concrete rubble. We are silently escorted in by an elderly man with a flashlight. The sheik is waiting for us. We are here to learn about his tribe's history and how he operates as a