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"  BAGHDAD, July 13 \u2014 After rumbling in a massively armored Rhino bus from Camp Victory to the International Zone through some of the world&amp;#039;s most dangerous real estate, I clamber aboard a Black Hawk\u2014my first ride since I sat shotgun in one for most of my 2005 trip. It&amp;#039;s time for the first stop of a tour with Gen. David Petraeus, recently appointed to be the commander overseeing all U.S. forces in Iraq. Petraeus (pictured above, third from right) frequently visits his line troops and talks directly to his officers, as he is during this operations and intelligence briefing. When they&amp;#039;re not looking at the general, the gathered rank-and-file stare intently at the two maps projected on screens for updated data on raids, weapons and IED caches. They also hear the latest on how the Iraqi population is working with the military to finger Al Qaeda and insurgents.  There&amp;#039;s a lot of discussion about joint maneuvers with the Iraqi Army, and the briefing seems sincere to me, with descriptions of both successes and challenges. One bright spot is how well the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) are doing. They have an increasingly important role in stabilizing the region. Petraeus quizzes the civilian PRT representative closely, then we head off to an awards ceremony and another briefing. This meeting is much smaller\u2014a few rows of folding chairs in an undersized building. This time, tactical maps show up on big flip charts, and we all lean in as the officers parse out another small slice of the war. Petraeus speaks so quietly that, even though I&amp;#039;m sitting directly behind him, I have to lean forward to catch the conversation. The talk focuses on successes, trouble spots, the general temper of the Iraqis and how many insurgent and Al Qaeda cells have been taken down. The next stop is Patrol Base Murray, an outpost about 30 kilometers south of Baghdad that was established just three weeks ago and features a raw, very non-high-tech look. There&amp;#039;s not much cement or gravel here yet, and the thick, acrid dust rises up in choking clouds from the rotor wash of Black Hawks. As we walk up to the base with Petraeus, I realize that the soldiers surrounding us have their weapons at the ready and are hustling through the deep dirt to stay close. We&amp;#039;re about to enter another newly constructed building for yet another briefing when Petraeus stops and points to a group of four soldiers: &amp;quot;I want to talk with them.&amp;quot; The group tries but can hardly contain itself as the general walks toward them. He shakes their hands, claps them on the shoulders, and the other soldiers who&amp;#039;ve filtered out to see their four-star start grinning and coming closer. Within seconds, almost everyone&amp;#039;s got a camera in his hand. \u2014Leslie Sabbagh "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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