Iraq says most of Al-Qaeda network destroyed in 2007

This is good news in the short term, but he real test of success here will be in five years. AQ may be beaten back in Iraq for the time being, but like squeezing a balloon, they will go elsewhere, only to return when the pressure is off. Al Qaeda and others such as Hamas and Hezbollah must be crushed into effective oblivion or they will continue on terrorizing and murdering.
FROM BREITBART.COM:
Iraq says most of Al-Qaeda network destroyed in 2007
The Iraqi interior ministry lauded its achievements over the past year on Saturday, saying that 75 percent of Al-Qaeda's networks in the country had been destroyed in 12 months.
Ministry spokesman Abdul Karim Khalaf also outlined sharp falls in the numbers of assassinations, kidnappings and death squad murders.
He told a news conference that increased patrols along the borders with Saudi Arabia and Syria had slowed infiltration by militants and played a key role in Iraq's improved security situation.
"We have destroyed 75 percent of Al-Qaeda hide-outs, and we broke up major criminal networks that supported Al-Qaeda in Baghdad," he said.
"After eliminating safe houses in Anbar province, which used to be Al-Qaeda's base, we moved into areas surrounding Baghdad and into Diyala province. Al-Qaeda headed north and we are pursuing them," he said.
Khalaf said kidnappings were down 70 percent and that an average of three to five people killed by death squads were being found each day in Baghdad compared with 15 to 20 a day in February.
Personnel with militant or criminal links had been weeded out from Iraqi security forces, he said, adding that Sunni-US alliances against Al-Qaeda had also significantly contributed to the drop in violence.