[WSJ] Reports of the terrorist group's imminent defeat are greatly exaggerated.
Even as the U.S. has "decimated" (the President's word) al Qaeda's senior leadership--killing or capturing 13 of the top 20 most wanted terrorists--it pops up in new locales and forms. In recent months, al Qaeda has revived or started terrorist franchises in Iraq and Syria, across northern Africa and in Nigeria. It lost a haven in Afghanistan but set up bases in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. It has nimbly exploited opportunities and is more active and in more places, points out Rand analyst Bruce Hoffman, than on September 11, 2001. |