u.s. special forces partner with the iraqis, side by side all the way through, but more and more, they're hanging back, they call it four. follow, observe and report. former president bush pledged to fight terrorists abroad so we wouldn't have to face them at home. nine years after 9/11, iraqi special forces are key to our counterterrorism efforts here, but should iraqis be leading our war on terror? >> remember, this is a sovereign country. we're from a sovereign country and we have a security agreement between the our two nations. >> commanders say it's been degraded since 2007. >> i fought in fallujah, mosul, face-to-face and changed their tactics, explosions ied's, car bombs. >> reporter: top terrorist leaders killed, their financing limited, but high profile bombings continue with al-qaeda claiming responsibility and its message is bringing foreign fighters to iraq. >> some of them are iraqis. some are saudis, yemenees,