al-Qaeda in Iraq is Active Again

The term al-Qaeda in Iraq is popping up again. John McCain is using it, a lot. Military spokesman warned yesterday that al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist groups have "infiltrated" Baghdad and to expect a rash of deadly suicide bomber attacks in the city.

What is al-Qaeda in Iraq? How are they connected with Osama bin Laden? Who are their spokespeople and what do they say? How many of them are there? Where are they based? Are they affiliated with specific religious factions? Do they have popular or political support within Iraq? No information seems to be available about them, which seems strange, since they are so great a threat.

Much information is available about the many armed factions at odds in Iraq today. We can learn all about the Sadrists, Badrists, Fadhila, Sunni awakening, Peshmerga and any number of more obscure groups on the inter net, print or broadcast media. We can learn about their founding, history, leaders, alliances, sources of support, goals, violent insurgent activities, antagonists, demographic make-up, all kinds of valuable information as we seek to inform ourselves, relative to what the Bush administration is doing in the Middle East. It is unusual that an organization as active, deadly and important as al-Qaeda in Iraq, would remain so little known. This is especially mystifying since the two most active and universally respected American war correspondents, Bill Roggio and Michael Yon, have devoted the last couple of years almost exclusively to covering the U S Army's fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Could someone please point me in the direction of some sources of detailed knowledge about al-Qaeda in Iraq?

Thank you so much.