[queequeger]

Ok, the actual numbers of the insurgency are in dispute, and I shouldn't have put out a figure as being rock-solid. You can't judge on arrests made, because like I said we favor arresting Sunni groups and AQI guys. We can't just go around polling people because simple support does not equate to numbers (in fact, there are very VERY few non-AQI members who actually support AQI).

Also, if by IAI you mean Islamic Army of Iraq, never heard of them (at least not as an active group in Iraq). I don't know who this 1920 is either, but it's important to note that AQI is not an umbrella organization. AQI is a cell group comprised largely of foreign fighters (i.e. non-iraqi) and one of many groups under ISI, Islamic State of Iraq (which might have been what you meant by IAI, they change their name about twice a week). Because of the very loose and fluid ties that exist between foreign terrorist organizations, it's difficult to assign numbers to each group (oftentimes people will group all Sunni militias and terrorist organizations as AQI). The connection between AQI and UBL is even in dispute.

ISI is important to pay attention to, but the one major player (at least in central Iraq) is Jaysh al-Mahdi. They've got popular support and have many MANY ties to GOI both locally and nationally.

My main point in saying that people stop obsessing over AQI is that everyone attacks everyone, and al-Qa'ida is pulling most of the US's attention because they have the same name as the group accused of the terrorist attacks on us (when in reality the connection is fragile at best). If we want to quell an insurgency, we need to step back and evaluate our priorities... AQI isn't really one of them.