Good afternoon and A’Salaam A’layQoom.

We have provided several briefings over the past year focused on operations against al-Qaeda Iraq, and while considerable progress has been made we still have much work to do.  Operation Phantom Phoenix, an Iraq-wide operation targeting al-Qaeda, has been underway for two weeks and the effects of these combined coalition and Iraqi Security Force operations has been substantial. 

Since January 1, Operation Phantom Phoenix has conducted 18 battalion-level operations, detained 1023 terrorists and killed 121 terrorists.  Among those captured or killed were 92 high-value targets.  Coalition and Iraqi forces have also found and cleared 351 caches, 410 IEDs, 3 VBIED and IED factories, and 4 tunnel complexes.

I thought it would be helpful to spend some time today discussing what still remains as Iraq’s most lethal enemy and its greatest threat to peace … al-Qaeda Iraq. 

What is al-Qaeda Iraq?  Who are its leaders and who makes up their rank and file?  How are they organized, funded and how do they operate?  What are they hoping to achieve in Iraq?  And finally, what effect have they had on the people living here?  These are questions I hope to be able to provide some perspective on by summarizing the fight against al-Qaeda Iraq over the past year.

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Al-Qaeda came to Iraq after the fall of Saddam for what it claimed was the purging of the infidels, namely the forces of the coalition that freed the Iraqi people from decades of tyranny.  Al-Qaeda senior leadership, who by that time had been driven into Northwestern Pakistan, saw Iraq as its caliphate, its center of struggle and dominance for establishing its Taliban-like ideology in the heart of the Arab world. 

Al-Qaeda Iraq is foreign led, with its current leader an Egyptian named Abu Ayyub al-Masri, having replaced the previous leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who was killed in June 2006.  The vast majority of the senior leadership are all foreigners.  The most senior Iraqi, Khalid al-Mashadani, was captured in July 2007 and provided considerable insight into how al-Qaeda Iraq was organized. 

Of course the vast majority of the fighters are Iraqis, many whom were loyal to Saddam and who fought not because they believed in the twisted ideology of al-Qaeda, but to avenge the loss of their former leader.  Some of course had little choice as the insurgency destroyed the economy and pride drove their allegiance to al-Qaeda in order to put food on their family’s tables. 

Al-Qaeda Iraq used the most barbaric of tactics, which I will discuss in more detail shortly, to intimidate Shi’a, Sunni, Kurds and Christians.  They executed young and old, men and women.  They beheaded fathers in front of their children.  They extorted, kidnapped and murdered for little or no reason.  To even the most casual observer, it appeared that all of Iraq was the enemy of al-Qaeda, no Iraqi was spared from their wrath.

A major weapon of al-Qaeda has been the suicide bomber, ninety percent who were foreigners.  The suicide bomber became the spark that ignited ethno-sectarian violence and drew all of Iraq into a near civil war.  So let me now turn to how the picture looked at the start of 2007.

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This map represents al-Qaeda Iraq’s presence in December of 2006.  Dark red represents what we assessed at that time as their operating areas … areas where they had some level of freedom of movement and sanctuary to conduct their operations from … and the lighter red represents areas of population influence.  The image on the bottom right is a hand drawn map captured early last year, outlining al-Qaeda’s strategy to overtake Baghdad by controlling first the outer belts then Baghdad itself. 

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This map was captured from al-Qaeda Iraq and represents their operations and areas of control as they perceived themselves in early March 2006.  The red represents areas they felt were under their full or partial control, with the south of Iraq as the obvious exception, with those living in the south labeled as ‘rejectionists.’  The differences in the two maps is a striking example of al-Qaeda’s use of propaganda to distort reality, in this case lying to their own fighters.     

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There are countless examples of the barbaric tactics, fueled by their extreme Taliban-like ideology to justify the indiscriminate use of violence against mostly innocent Iraqi civilians, many of whom were unknowingly labeled ‘apostates’ for their refusal to take up arms against Coalition and Iraqi forces or aid the terrorists.  Two such examples are the Tall Afar attack last March which killed and injured 223 Iraqis, and an attack in August of the Yazidi people who were targeted by multiple car bombs that killed and injured 796 civilians. 

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These bombings were just two of the more than 4,500 attacks by al-Qaeda Iraq in 2007 that targeted civilians.  Al-Qaeda murdered 3,870 Iraqis, injuring nearly 18,000 additional innocent civilians.  The violence peaked in March and April and as the surge of operations pressed through the summer, the number of high profile explosions slowly began to decrease, however the numbers still remain alarmingly high. 

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As Coalition and Iraqi forces have cleared al-Qaeda sanctuaries, numerous torture houses and mass graves were found.  These images were taken from an al Qaeda torture manual, and show the brutal methods they used to torture Iraqis for something as simple as smoking cigarettes or being related to someone in the Iraqi Security Forces.  They tortured and murdered men, women, and children, and through the use of terror and intimidation controlled the populations where they were present.

Before I highlight some of the major operations and progress to rid Iraq of al-Qaeda, I think it’s important to note the role played by the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi people.

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Iraqi Security Forces continue to grow, to develop their capabilities, and to shoulder more of the burden of providing security for their country.   In 2007, the Iraqi Security Forces grew by more than 106,000 personnel. a surge over three times that of the coalition.  The total force now stands at over 567,000.  The Ministry’s of Defense and Interior invested nearly $3 billion dollars in foreign military sales in 2007 to purchase equipment and supplies.

By years end, some 140 battalions of Iraqi Army, National Police, & Special Operations units were in the fight … about 122 of those battalions capable of taking the lead in operations.  All Iraqi battalions are heavily involved in combat operations and have been increasingly the first line of defense, with losses 2-3 times that of the Coalition.

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Beyond the increased capacity and capability of the Iraqi Security Forces to take on al-Qaeda, perhaps even more important was the formation of Awakening groups across Iraq.

What began in Anbar Province in early 2007 as the original “Awakening” by Sunni tribes rising up against al-Qaeda Iraq, they worked with and increase the capacity of Iraqi and Coalition Security Forces to improve security in areas threatened by al-Qaeda Iraq and other militant groups.

Today, more than 130 different Concerned Local Citizen groups are providing neighborhood security throughout Iraq, with over 80,000 active members … 80% of whom are Sunni; 20% Shi’a.

Under the control of local Iraqi Security or Coalition Forces, these brave Iraqis have turned the tide against al-Qaeda and are no longer afraid to fight against their ideology and violence.  We have all witnessed the courageous acts of the concerned local citizens and while al-Qaeda has made them their enemy, they continue to stand up for their neighborhoods and are making a tremendous difference in restoring peace and normalcy. 

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Progress depends on squeezing al-Qaeda Iraq from every direction and with every possible means.

Much more than just kinetics, it’s a multi-dimensional approach, using all elements of combat power, integrated with “soft” power.  Progress made in security must be followed quickly by improved economic security, with employment being foremost.  The government of Iraq is acutely aware of this challenge and has worked side by side with the provincial leadership to address many of their needs and concerns.  All of this will need to be worked in order to continue squeezing al-Qaeda out of their safe havens and operating bases and into the open where they can be killed or captured.

With that as a backdrop, let me turn to discussing a few of the high-profile terrorists that were either killed or captured during operations by coalition and Iraqi security forces, supported by the Iraqi people.

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Haythem Sabah Shaker Mahmud al-Badri was the Emir of Greater Samarra and was the mastermind behind the destruction of the Samarra Mosque in February 2006.

•         Operated Samarra terrorist network responsible for improvised explosive devices and vehicle bomb attacks

•         Orchestrated the Kirkuk courthouse bombing June 23, 2006 (20 Killed, 100+ injured)

•         Masterminded a vehicle bomb attack against an Iraqi Army checkpoint in Samarra on August 28, 2006 (29 Iraqi Security Force Killed/66 injured; 51 Iraqi civilians injured)

•         He was killed in a targeted raid last August

Khalid al Mashadani was the senior Iraqi in the al-Qaeda Iraq network.

•         Principal intermediary between al- Qaeda senior leaders and Abu Ayyub al-Masri

•         Created fictional al-Qaeda Iraq leader -- Abu Umar al Baghdadi to mask foreign leadership of AQI

•         Prior to capture, issued order for all al-Qaeda Iraq Emirs (city and provincial) to start wearing suicide belts

•         Confirmed al-Qaeda Iraq lost al-Anbar safe haven due to Coalition Force operations and tribal engagement

•         He was captured last July and sentenced to death by an Iraqi court in December

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Muharib Abdul Latif al Juburi was the minister of information and primary spokesperson for al-Qaeda Iraq.

•         Involved in kidnap and murder

•         Participated in the kidnapping of journalist Jill Carroll

•         He was killed last May

Abu Maysara was a senior advisor to al-Masri and a Syrian national.

•         Responsible for interpreting Koran to legitimize the killing of innocent Iraqi citizens to include women and children

•         Provided logistical support to operations and key leader in their media network

•         Escaped from the Badush Prison in March 2007, and was killed last November

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Abu Usama al-Tunisi was the Emir of the Southern Baghdad Belts and a Tunisian national.

•         Foreign terrorist facilitator with strong connections in Levant and Syria

•         Responsible for multiple vehicle bomb attacks in the Baghdad area

•         Participated in the Baghdad Sheraton Hotel Bombing

•         Key communications link to foreign facilitators and senior al-Qaeda leadership

•         He was killed in a targeted operation last September

Muthanna was the Emir of the Iraq/Syria border

•         Foreign terrorist facilitator

•         Responsible for the movement of personnel from Syrian border into Iraq

•         Direct contact with Abu Ayyub al-Masri

•         Captured material provides insight into the foreign terrorist network spread across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe

•         He was killed last September

I want to spend a few moments discussing the material we found at the site of his Muthanna’s death.

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I mentioned earlier that the majority of al-Qaeda’s leadership and many of its fighters are foreign born.  During operations against Muthanna, Coalition Forces captured over five terabytes of data detailing more than 750 foreign terrorists, from 22 countries that entered Iraq from August 2006 to August 2007.  From this we learned that the majority of foreign terrorists enter Iraq to carry out suicide attacks, signing a pledge that formally commits them to that duty.  Over 90% of suicide bombers are foreign terrorists, and these high profile attacks account for a large majority of the Iraqi losses inflicted by al-Qaeda. 

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Abu Yaqub al Masri was a member of the original leadership of al-Qaeda Iraq and an Egyptian national.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Previously a military and spiritual leader in al-Anbar, then emir in Taji<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Responsible for a series of attacks and car bombs in Iraq, including bombings that killed 200 people in Baghdad<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Provided guidance and direction for attack planning, coordination and execution<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Direct access to senior al-Qaeda leadership<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         He was killed last August<!--[endif]-->

Wamid was the Emir of Baghdad

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Iraqi national with extensive al-Qaeda Iraq history dating back to 2003<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Operated in the Baghdad area and had been reportedly in charge of both a security cell and a separate intelligence cell<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Identified by multiple sources as a direct link to Abu Ayyoub al-Masri and could have served as his gatekeeper<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         He was detained during a raid last May<!--[endif]-->

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Umar Wahdallah Dod al-Zangana was the Baghdad Military Emir

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Ran al-Qaeda Iraq network responsible for hundreds of civilian murders within Baghdad<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Planned and directed vehicle bomb, suicide bombs, improvised explosive devices and sniper operations<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Used foreign terrorists in vehicle bomb attacks throughout the Baghdad area<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Planned and directed Baghdad chlorine attacks<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Personally beheaded two Russian Diplomats<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Had direct contact with Abu Ayyub al-Masri<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         He was sentenced in December to death by an Iraqi court.<!--[endif]-->

And, Muhammad Sulayman Fizza al-Zobai, the regional Emir of Kharma, Abu Ghuraib, Zaidon, and Radwaniyah

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Led an al-Qaeda Iraq foreign terrorist facilitation network<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Provided foreigners to act as suicide vehicle bomb drivers <!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Involved in Abu Ghuraib prison attack on April 2, 2005<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->•         Involved in complex attack on Kharma police station, December 24, 2005<!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->      •         <!--[endif]-->Organized intimidation squads against Iraqi civilian

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Overall, operations against al-Qaeda Iraq in 2007 resulted in the capture of 8,800 terrorists while an additional 2,400 were killed.  Of those, we captured or killed 52 Emirs, 32 Improvised Explosive Device leaders, 24 cell leaders, and 92 facilitators. 

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The combined efforts of the Coalition and the Iraqis led to a much different outlook for al-Qaeda Iraq at the conclusion of 2007, as shown in this map.  Their areas of control and influence were diminished significantly.  We have reduced their vehicle born improvised explosive device networks … disrupted the flow of foreign terrorists, weapons and logistical materials … kept constant pressure on al-Qaeda, forcing their leadership to be on the run.  Al-Qaeda has alienated the very people it needed for support … citizens have “awakened” to defend their neighborhoods and their way of life … and finally, the Iraqi security forces have surged and are on the front lines of the fight.