That’s according to a story in the Washington Post this morning.

“U.S. military leaders say they now see [Abu Musab al-] Zarqawi’s group of foreign fighters and Iraqi supporters, known as al Qaeda in Iraq, as having supplanted Iraqis loyal to ousted president Saddam Hussein as the insurgency’s driving element.”

Some of us have suspected as much. (One clue: Baathists do not eagerly volunteer for suicide bombing missions; they tend to be a tad skeptical about the whole 72 virgins deal.)

Said Army Maj. Gen. Richard Zahner: “If you don’t take off the terrorist element the political process can’t mature.”

Also worth highlighting: “More than 315 foreign fighters have been killed since March and nearly 330 detained. Suicide attacks fell about 50 percent from May to August.”