ABSTRACT
On August 16, 2006, Colonel Pete Devlin submitted a negative assessment of the situation in Anbar province, Iraq. Devlin was a seasoned professional and his team was one of the most competent in theater. He had spent months at Multi-National Force (MNF) West Forward Headquarters in Ramadi, and had “a reputation of being one of the Marine Corps’ best intelligence officers, with a tendency to be careful and straightforward,” according to colleagues interviewed by The Washington Post journalist Thomas Ricks.2
