With the war in Iraq stretching past the five-year mark, experts weigh in on what has gone right, what has gone wrong, and lessons learned. Paul Kane, a Marine veteran of Iraq, writes of the “serious disconnect” between civilians and those who have served in uniform, while Meghan O’Sullivan, former deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan, says that today “we have the right strategy in place — and it is making a difference on the ground.”

Sir, Clive Crook’s article on Iraq (“America’s wishful thinking”, September 13) provides a lucid analysis and rightly points to the imperative for a bipartisan, “centrist” solution....

The following letter was written in response to L. Paul Bremer III's op-ed "How I Didn’t Dismantle Iraq’s Army" which appeared in The New York Times on September 6, 2007.

With Gen. David H. Petraeus scheduled to appear before Congress next week, Belfer Center experts and researchers offer their insights and analysis — as well as items that Congress should not overlook.

One of the earliest victories of the U.S. Marine Corps occurred in 1801 during the Barbary War. Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon led a small band of men across 500 miles of desert to attack Tripoli. Lt. O'Bannon became an instant national hero with the victory, and the battle was later immortalized in The Marines Hymn. Despite his accomplishments, however, O'Bannon grew frustrated with what he perceived to be bureaucracy, and two years later, he resigned and left the Marines. The early Corps was authorized to have only four captains: O'Bannon, the most decorated Marine, could not be promoted. The Marine Corps lacked an effective mechanism for listening to its people and changing to retain its best.