In Iraq from January 2005 to January 2006, Colonel Joseph DiSalvo commanded the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team. Responsible principally for the Rasafah district of Baghdad - located on the east side of the Tigris River - in an area consisting of some 4.5 million inhabitants, DiSalvo focused on four key lines of operation: governance, infrastructure, the economy, and the training of Iraqi security forces, all of which he discusses in detail. In addition, he talks extensively about the information operations campaigns he ran and the efforts he spearheaded to "demonize the terrorists" whenever possible. A general lack of education, DiSalvo observes, is the chief barrier that's preventing the Iraqis from making a smooth transition from dictatorship to democracy. As he noted, "You have to educate them. You can't just assume that they really have a logical view of why they're fence-sitting." Also lacking, in DiSalvo's estimation, is adequate training and mentoring of "senior level generals and public officials” who operate Iraqi ministries. Unfortunately, he said, the U.S. State Department “brought nothing to the fight” in this regard, among others. Discussing counterinsurgency operations, DiSalvo asserted that, in his opinion, “of that five percent of destabilizing activity that’s going on, probably two percent of it is no-kidding al-Qaeda, Zarqawi-type activity. The other three percent is just some tribal jealousy and power hungry people who are just selfish and want to see what’s in it for them now.” Di Salvo also cautions against relying too heavily on technology in combating insurgents, stresses the necessity of good cultural awareness, and also insists that the most essential skill leaders need these days is flexibility on the battlefield.

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