Free Republic

Eastman, Ga., native Staff Sgt. Edrese Johnson of C Troop, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, hands out some candy to a little girl while on patrol in a poor section of Baghdad's Adhamiyah neighborhood. Photo by Sgt. Michael Pryor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — “How’s business?” is the question on the tip of Capt. Albert Marckwardt’s tongue as he strolls through the main market of the Iraqi capital’s Adhamiyah District. The answer, though, is evident all around him. Business in Adhamiyah is booming. The formerly run-down market is bustling. Merchandise spills out of the...

Iraqi Police search a mosque suspected of being a safe haven for insurgents in the Adhamiyah district of Baghdad, Aug. 27. Department of Defense photo by Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eli J. Medellin. FOB LOYALTY -- Two Iraqi kidnap victims were freed Wednesday by U.S. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in the Adhamiyah district of eastern Baghdad. U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces are in the area as part of the expansion of Operation Forward Together.Describing the scene, Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, said they observed an Iraqi man running from a house nearby their...