| ID | 130251 |
| Title Proper | Once and future threat |
| Other Title Information | Al-Qaeda is hardly dead |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Berman, Ilan |
| Publication | 2014. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Is al-Qaeda really on the run? Since the death of Osama Bin Laden, the Obama administration has actively promoted the narrative that it has gained the upper hand in its struggle with the world's most dangerous terrorist group. The president himself, as well as a variety of other US officials, have insisted time and again that al-Qaeda is "decimated" and on a "path to defeat." But reports of the terror group's death, to borrow a phrase from Mark Twain, have been greatly exaggerated. Although it suffered considerable operational setbacks over the past decade, al-Qaeda has proven both adaptive and resilient. Today, its two principal offshoots pose growing challenges to stability in North Africa and the southern Persian Gulf. The changing organization now sees growth opportunities in the deepening civil war in Syria, growing disorder in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, lawlessness in the Sinai Peninsula, and the impending US withdrawal from Afghanistan. In all of these hot spots it is looking to expand its franchises and threaten US interests. Moreover, as a result of America's progressive disengagement from the Middle East and North Africa, al-Qaeda is poised to discover still greater room for maneuver in the years ahead.
The most important fact about al-Qaeda is that it is an evolving organization, far different from the one that carried out the attacks of September 11, 2001. The years since then have seen its forces significantly eroded in Afghanistan, where coalition operations succeeded in whittling away at the core group of militants that made up what can be called al-Qaeda "central." In the summer of 2010, then CIA Director Leon Panetta estimated there were just fifty to one hundred al-Qaeda fighters in the group's country of origin. A similar number was reported to be operating in Afghanistan by a coalition general last year. |
| `In' analytical Note | World Affairs US Vol.177, No.1; May-June 2014: p.76-86 |
| Journal Source | World Affairs US Vol.177, No.1; May-June 2014: p.76-86 |
| Key Words | North America ; United States - US ; Syria ; Iraq ; Egypt ; Afghanistan ; Barack Obama ; Osama Bin Laden ; Al-Qaeda ; Militant Organization ; Terrorist Organization ; Foreign Policy ; US Foreign Policy ; War on Terror ; Sinai Peninsula ; Persian Gulf ; Dangerous Terrorist Group ; Global Organization |