What of the Other Enemy in Iraq

The invasion of Iraq unleashed a bevy of competing forces that did not want to see a democracy established in Iraq, with the two primary outside forces being al Qaeda and Iran. Al Qaeda has been pummelled and there is every reason to believe that bin Laden was being completely honest in his recent assessment of al Qaeda's situation - that "the darkness [in Iraq] has become pitch black." That brings to the fore the question of other major force, Iranian involvement in Iraq.

Evidence of significant Iranian involvement became clear earlier this year through intelligence and the fact of increasingly effective use of specialized IED's associated with the IRGC. And it can be deduced from the fact that they were sending Hezbollah operatives into Iraq to organize Shia insurgents that Iran intended to create something akin to a Lebanon complete with an armed element funded by and loyal to Iran. But there has been an aggressive action against these elements - beginning with the green light to begin picking up suspected Iranian operatives in Iraq and holding them, as General Petraeus said, "until they run out information or we run out of food." Added to that, even the Shia loyal to Sadr are now apparently cooperating to end this Iranian meddling.

The ancedotal evidence of declining the fortunes of Iran are the number of IED attacks which have, in large measure, been associated with Iranian sponsored elements. The USA Today reports:

The number of roadside bombs found in Iraq declined dramatically in August and September from earlier this year, and U.S. officials say the discoveries of thousands of ammunition caches might explain the drop.

Improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, are responsible for at least 60% of U.S. casualties in Iraq. The Pentagon has repeatedly refused to release figures on the number of IED attacks in Iraq or the number of casualties that have resulted.

USA TODAY obtained the month-by-month tally, which represents the total numbers of IEDs — exploded or unexploded — found in Iraq, including those targeting U.S. and coalition troops, Iraqi security forces and civilians.

Since the start of the year through September, coalition forces found 25,208 IEDs, according to the figures, which were confirmed by the Pentagon. In those nine months, IEDs killed 510 coalition troops.

The numbers of IEDs found and the deaths they caused have declined steadily since June. In September, coalition forces found 2,022 IEDs. That's down 38% from March, this year's peak.

Read the entire article. If this supposition of declining Iranian fortunes in Iraq is correct, then it is good news indeed.