TONIGHT'S FOCUS: Remember all of the reports after the war in Iraq about the museums being looted? How priceless antiquities were lost because U.S. troops didn't protect them? Well, it turns out that the truth is quite different. Meanwhile, those same troops, who were supposed to be heading home soon, have been sent to the most dangerous town in Iraq.

It was seen as one of the first major failures of the U.S. rule of post-Saddam Iraq. In the wave of looting that engulfed Baghdad after Saddam fell, the museums were supposed to have been badly hit. Remember, Iraq is the home of Babylon, the cradle of civilization. Thousands of priceless antiquities were supposed to have been lost while American troops stood by and did nothing. It was all over the press, Nightline included. Now it's an old cliché that truth is the first casualty in war. And as ABC News correspondent Hillary Brown will report from Baghdad tonight, the truth behind this story is somewhat different. It turns out that almost all of the pieces are safe.. They were hidden away by the museum staff for safekeeping, including some amazing treasures said to rival the treasures from King Tut's tomb. They were hidden in a vault that was then flooded to protect it from looters. But the bottom line here? The museum staff apparently lied, in part to discredit the American troops. So we'll reexamine this whole story again.

Here at Nightline we still have a soft spot in our hearts for the 3rd Infantry Division troops. That is the unit that Ted and I traveled with during the war. They were supposed to be heading home soon. Instead, as the unrest continues, their stay in Iraq has been extended. The most dangerous town in Iraq these days seems to be Falluja. It was a hotbed of support for Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party, and there are attacks on American troops there on a regular basis. It's a dangerous place. So, of course, the 3rd Infantry Division has been sent in to try to clean it up. Nightline correspondent Dave Marash will report from there on the 3rd I.D's arrival and their first experiences there.

One note on something that we have made a regular feature on Nightline that I'm not sure people have noticed. A lot of you have written in the past about the fact that Ted or Chris used to just say "good night" between the last two commercial breaks. We are now trying to take care of that problem, and one of the regular features that's going in to the end of the broadcast is what we're calling "In the Line of Duty." It is too easy for us, and quite frankly for all of you too, to lose track of what American soldiers are going through in Iraq. But there continue to be casualties, and every day that there are, we will report it at the end of our broadcast. It just seems like the least we can do to recognize the continuing sacrifice of those soldiers, and the price that they and their families are paying.

Leroy Sievers and the Nightline Staff
ABCNEWS Washington bureau