Al Qaeda appears to be crumbling in Iraq, a spectacular victory in the War on Terror. A senior leader has bared his soul to Amit R. Paley of the Washington Post, painting a vivid picture of what the surge has done to al Qaeda in Iraq. Here are some notable points from Paley's excellent article.

- In 2007 alone, over 2,400 AQI members killed, almost 9,000 captured.

- Post Reporter meets with AQ in Iraq a senior leader, or emir, Riyadh al-Ogaidi, who used to travel with 20 bodyguards. Now he goes alone to remain anonymous.

- Ogaidi also said AQI membership plummeted from about 12,000 in June 2007 to about 3,500 today.

- Foreign fighter infiltration greatly reduced. Riyadh al-Ogaidi, a senior leader, or emir, of al-Qaeda in Iraq, said the total number of foreign fighters in Iraq is "in the tens -- not more than 200." US military agrees with the drastic reduction claim.

- They are begging tribal leaders to allow them back in, promising to be good this time.

- He tips that AQI is fractured, saying of the AQI top dog ,"He is mild-mannered and weak".

- He said of the Anbar awakening ""This also created panic, fear and the unwillingness to fight. The morale of the fighters went down."