Perspective: U.S. Soldiers Brace for Their Surge

U.S. soldiers on patrol in Baghdad today

From his seat in the tactical operations center, Army Lieutenant Colonel Edward Taylor can survey a wall-sized black-and-white satellite map of Baghdad. But that bird's-eye view will probably matter less than the two books on the table in front of him, as U.S. troops once again attempt to bring the city under control.

The first, embossed with the Marine Corps' seal, is titled Small-Unit Leader's Guide to Counter-Insurgency. The second is the small green notebook in which he records details of meetings with his Iraq counterpart, General Samir. U.S. commanders plan to employ classic counter-insurgency tactics rediscovered by the U.S. military through a bitter process of trial and error in Iraq. One question they face, though, is whether Washington has learned those lessons too late.

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