According to the commander of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) for 22 months of planning for and fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the war's two segments thus far have proved very different. In 2003, OIF I was comparatively less difficult, with Marines fighting mostly against Shia in the south. In OIF II against Sunni tribes in the west, "our vision to win hearts and minds was met squarely with a 300% increase in the number of attacks in our sector," he says, which translated into casualties (right) in "the turbulent city of Fallujah."
