My cultural adviser traveled with me throughout the villages in Iraq. His job was to explain the culture to me so that I could frame our operations in the local context. He also served as my personal interpreter during our visits with local leaders. Salman did a wonderful job. His efforts helped save countless American and Iraqi lives.

During these trips across Iraq, I would ask Salman to tell me about the culture and the people. He asked me, “What do you want to know?” I told him I wanted to understand the Iraqi culture and the Iraqi people so that we could achieve peace and prosperity together . I told Salman that I wanted him to pick a topic for each day and educate me on that subject. The topic was his choice. I thought it interesting that he began w

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