well I think the numbers of Saddam types have been relatively stagnant. They were there (mostly) first, but when we got into the country, our first objective was to establish and solidify and then secure. So while we were doing that, all the Jihadis came in and outnumbers the Saddam guys. They have actually taken pot shots at each other too.
As for the swing, it's a couple things, all of which you listed I think. The Iraqi borders are a bit more secure, the Iraqis believe in their COUNTRY for the most part, so we are tipped off sometimes. And we have killed a helluva lot of them.
There are going to be Saddam loyalists for another generation or so. But the foreign terrorists are something we can stomp out.
That's pretty amazing. So they were turning on each other sometimes? Boy that's sure something the media NEVER reported on. Dorks. And with what you said, I have visions of F-16s, F-15s, AH-64s, and Soldiers and Marines taking out large masses of them because they're so sloppy and untrained and primative in their fighting techniques. They're dedicated but not trained and NO match for any brance of the U.S. military. I have seen a couple of video clips from friends of Apache's and Army/Marine groups hitting groups of terrorists in Iraq. It pretty clearly shows that they're not worthy opponants, though still dangerous because of their fanaticism. If it wasn't for their cowardice in planting road side bombs and other coward terrorist tactics, many of the 2,000 dead would still be alive. But even so, a 55-1 kill ratio is beyond amazing. No one has ever lost a war when they kill the enemy 55-1.
Is the reason the foreigners are so easy to kill because they are so obviously not Iraqi's and they stick out? In addition to a lot of Iraqi's that I assume turn them in because they don't want them there? Amazing how many of them have been killed in Iraq. I wonder how many of them would have launched attacks in America if they hadn't been killed in Iraq?