Via the Long War Journal comes this excellent graphic that shows just how much Al Qaeda in Iraq has been decimated over the past year:

Obviously incredible progress has been made both in Baghdad and nationally on destroying Al Qaeda in Iraq but clearly there is still a long ways to go to completely eradicate them as they have fallen back into rural hide outs.  Currently US and Iraqi forces are conducting operations to go after these terrorists in their rural hideouts:

Operation Phantom Phoenix, the current nationwide operation targeting al Qaeda’s remaining safe havens, was launched on Jan. 8. Iraqi and US forces have captured or killed 121 al Qaeda fighters, wounded 14, and detained an additional 1023 suspects. Al Qaeda’s leadership has been hit hard during the operation, with 92 high values targets either killed or captured.

Iraqi and US forces have also discovered 351 weapons caches and four tunnel complexes, Odierno said. Iraqi and US forces have also discovered three car bomb and improvised explosive device [IED] factories and 410 IEDs, including 18 car bombs and 25 homes rigged with explosives. Also found were "numerous torture chambers, an underground medical clinic, several closed schools, and a large foreign fighter camp with intricate tunnel complexes," said Odierno. [Long War Journal]

There is still too much red left on that map, but let’s hope next year there is a whole lot less red left.