A senior American commander Gen. Ray Odierno has said that Iraqi and American forces have killed or captured 34 of the top 42 leaders of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and has cut off the terrorist organization from its foreign sponsors. He pointed out that that the terrorist group in Iraq had “lost connection” to Al Qaeda’s central leadership in Pakistan. He stated “I think they’re struggling now, and it’s going to be difficult for them to continue to recruit other top leaders.” Although he maintained that “there will still be bad days in Iraq,” and “there are still violent elements that operate inside Iraq.1

• 1. “Al Qaeda Leaders in Iraq Neutralized, U.S. Says,” New York Times, June 4, 2010, at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/05/world/middleeast/05military.html?ref=t...