Iraq:The Struggle for Freedom

Sunday, July 11 at 8 p.m. ET!

Hosted by Lt. Col. Oliver North

During the first phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom (search), columns of Army and Marine armor raced toward Baghdad.  But after the fall of Saddam's regime, the nature of combat changed. Foreign terrorists flooded into Iraq and allied themselves with former regime Baathist (search) loyalists to instigate an insurgency. Out here, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines refer to this phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom as "the second semester of war."

In this gripping episode of “War Stories with Oliver North,” we go door to door in “Operation Sheik It Up.”  On these dangerous foot patrols in Ar Ramadi, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (search ) or "1 Mef," tracks hidden weapons and terrorists. You’ll also hear from soldiers and Marines as to what they are doing to win the hearts and minds of a hostile population.

But as dangerous as all of these tasks are — and as challenging as they have become — the soldiers and Marines are up to the task of protecting Iraq’s fledgling democracy.  This is their story, about those young Americans serving on the front lines, in the War on Terror.

Staff for this episode:

Senior Producer: Pamela K. Browne

Produced and Written by: Cyd Upson and Grace Cutler

Associate Producers: Monica Hill and Jason Kopp

Editor: Chris Scolaro, Todd Zelin and David Small

Designer : Yong Kim