A broken narrative

Frequently, the recent fall in violence in Iraq is being accredited to a lessened flow of Iranian arms and personnel. Major General Rick Lynch (whose statements I've had problems with in the past) says the Iranians are still everywhere.

The quantity of Iranian bomb-making components being found in Iraq is increasing despite a fall in attacks and 20 Iranian-trained agents are still operating south of Baghdad, a top U.S. general said on Sunday.

But perhaps a more interesting fold in the Lynch view of Iraq is the idea that the Quds force is now represented by Iraqis,

Lynch said his troops were chasing 20 "targets" he identified as Iraqi Shi'ites who were agents for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps's (IRGC) elite Qods Force.

"They were trained in Iran and they're conducting operations in our battle space," Lynch told reporters. "They're Iraqis but they're IRGC surrogates and they're still out there."

Lynch has been the most anti-Iran voices coming out of Iraq.