Shh! Wouldn’t want the American people knowing about this, now would we?

Iraq’s interior ministry spokesman said Saturday that 75 percent of Al Qaeda in Iraq’s terrorist network had been destroyed this year, but the top American commander in the country said the terror group remained his chief concern.

Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf said the disruption of the terrorist network was due to improvements in the Iraqi security forces — which he said had made strides in weeding out commanders and officers with ties to militias or who were involved in criminal activities.

He also credited the rise of anti-Al Qaeda in Iraq groups, mostly made up of Sunni fighters the Shiite-dominated government has cautiously begun to embrace. Additionally, an increase in American troops since June has been credited with pushing many militants out of Baghdad.

General Petraeus readily admits that al Qaeda remains the biggest threat for us in Iraq, but the Interior Minister says its activity is now “limited to certain places north of Baghdad” and forces are now pursuing those groups. The Associated Press, to its credit, notes the significant improvement since the surge.

But violence in Iraq has dropped significantly since June — the U.S. military says it is down 60 percent nationwide — demonstrating success in fighting the terrorist network…

According to an Associated Press count, civilian deaths in Iraq have steadily dropped in the second half of 2007 after seeing a high of 2,155 killed in May. Through Friday, deaths in December stood at 691, the lowest for the year and much lower than the 2,309 killed in December 2006.

Then there’s this:

Meanwhile, the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Saturday for reconciliation between his followers and Iraqi security forces in the holy city of Karbala, according to al-Sadr aide Sheik Mohannad al-Gharrawi.

I’m sure it’s simply a coincidence that media coverage of the war has been down as of late…