UBIQUITOUS, YET ALSO PRACTICALLY NONEXISTENT

Two of today's stories from the Department of Defense's Armed Forces Press Service:

Al Qaeda Key Disrupter in Iraq, Ambassador Says

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2007 -- Al Qaeda bombings and other acts of violence conducted across Iraq are designed to incite sectarian strife and create enough chaos and instability to bring down the country's central government, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq told a panel of U.S. legislators here today.

"I have seen attacks from al Qaeda that have been aimed at virtually every community in Iraq," Ryan C. Crocker, who is now about four months into his tour as the top U.S. diplomat in Iraq, told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee....

Al Qaeda Has No Sanctuary in Iraq, General Says

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2007 -- Al Qaeda no longer has sanctuary in any major region of Iraq, only a month after the surge of operations began there, a top commander in the region said today.

This comes after coalition forces recently secured the city of Baqubah, the capital city of the former insurgent-stronghold Diyala province, said Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq.

"With Baqubah's liberation, I can think of no major population center in Iraq that is an al Qaeda safe haven today," the general said, speaking to Pentagon reporters via satellite from Iraq....

So to sum up:

Al-Qaeda -- they're everywhere! So it would be folly to withdraw the troops! Al-Qaeda -- they're on the run! So it would be folly to withdraw the troops!