Has Al Qaeda Been Weakened In Afghanistan?

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Cesaitis walks through a grape field as members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul and the U.S. Agriculture Department visit a village near the city of Qalat in Afghanistan's Zabul province, Afghanistan, May 8, 2011. Cesaitis is assigned to the reconstruction team. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

Al-Qaeda So Weak That US Afghanistan Withdrawal Would Be Justified -- The Telegraph

Drone strikes and covert operations have weakened Afghanistan's al-Qaeda network to the extent a speedier than planned withdrawal of US troops would be justified, according to officials in the Obama administration.

Senior officials who appeared to support a faster exit plan told the New York Times that 20 of al-Qaeda's 30 prominent leaders in the region had been killed in the past 18 months.

During the May 2 raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden, the US seized intelligence materials at the al-Qaeda leader's compound which showed that his lieutenants were too afraid for their lives to plan overseas terror attacks.

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Update: Qaeda Woes Fuel Talk of Speeding Afghan Pullback -- New York Times

My Comment: A few weeks (right after Bin Laden was killed) I speculated that the U.S. would start to have a discussion on leaving Afghanistan sooner rather than later. Quoting a pundit who put it perfectly .... Darth Vader is now dead, the movie is over.

It seems that discussion is now reaching the front pages of the media, and that senior officials are openly suggesting that the time is now ripe for a hastened U.S. withdrawal. I expect this discussion to not only continue, but it will also be further pushed by the White House when President Obama makes his announcement next week that the U.S. will start it's withdrawal from Afghanistan in the coming months.

But as to the question .... has Al Qaeda been weakened? The answer is yes and no. A good chunk of the top leadership has been wiped out, but Al Qaeda still has the support of millions of Muslims. That has not changed, and as long as Al Qaeda has the hearts and minds of these people .... it will always be a threat.