Thanks, as always, for the ping.
Regarding the first item, it is worth going to the press conference transcript here:
http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050914-3903.html
There is a lot of additional information there, like the information that we've got sources inside al-Qaeda Iraq feeding information to our guys! Evidently AQ knows it, so the colonel had no problem discussing it. Catch this quote:
"But the interesting thing is that it gives us a great feel for what the insurgents are doing, what their plans are. They also know that we have sources, and it causes them to be very disruptive. They don't trust anybody within their organization, and they shouldn't because some of these sources have moved up to pretty high-level positions, and it helps us quite a bit."
Also, many of the foreign fighters today are inexperienced, and estimated to be about 15-17 years old. The colonel makes it clear that in his opinion, AQ in the north of Iraq is unravelling.
The MSM loves to talk about how easy it is to replace people in AQ. They always talk about the new generation and how Iraq is a better training ground than Afghanistan was.
Bull.
These guys are getting rudimentary training at best. Those with know how are being captured/killed far faster than they are able to pass this knowledge on.
A secondary item to consider is that we have recently killed a couple of "envoys" and financiers. These are the guys how go to the money men in Saudi etc and ask for money for the "holy warriors". This is a very personal business. People don't give large sums to people they don't know. By killing the contacts the pipeline between money men and the terrorists can be kinked if not cut.