[Whitehouse Dossier] President B.O. appears to be backing away from his often-stated claim -- a cornerstone of his 2012 campaign -- that "al Qaeda is on the path to defeat."In a subtle but important shift three days ago during remarks nominating Sen. John F.
I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry
Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, the Senate's current
foreign policy expert, filling the vacated wingtips of Joe Biden...
(D-Mass.) to be Secretary of State, Obama revised the assertion, stipulating that "the al Qaeda core is on the path to defeat."
The addition of one word to Obama's usual statement may seem a small matter. But the president chooses his words very carefully, particularly in prepared remarks. And the insertion of the word "core" probably represents a major reassessment by the administration of al Qaeda's overall strength and durability, a change in outlook that could have a significant impact on U.S. anti-terrorism policy going forward.
Use of the word "core" implies that while the administration is having success against the al Qaeda leadership, al Qaeda's far-flung affiliates -- like the ones that carried out the Benghazi attack -- are not on the "path to defeat." And therefore in a larger sense, the claim made during the campaign that al Qaeda itself is on the path to defeat is no longer considered true by the White House.