There's more to the final mission than keeping the Iraqi Police solvent, however. The effort is focused on the Police Transition Teams. Their job is to train the Iraqi Police and bring them up to international standards so the locals can hold the city together after the last Americans leave.

A senior Marine officer whose name I didn't catch grilled some of his men during a talk in the Camp Fallujah chow hall after dinner.

"Do you trust the Iraqi Police?" he said to a Marine who works on one of the teams.

"No, sir," the Marine said without hesitation. That was the only acceptable answer. This was a test, not an inquiry.

"Why not?" the officer said.

"Because they're not honest," the Marine said.

"What do the Iraqi Police watch?" the officer said. "What are they looking at on a daily basis?"

"Us," said several Marines in unison.

"They will emulate you, gents," the officer said. "They. Will. Emulate you. Why? Because we came over here twice and kicked their ass. I do not trust the Iraqi Police today. Our job is to get them up to speed. They don't need to be up to the standard of Americans. But they do need to be better than they are right now."