Friday, August 5, 2011

Al Qaeda's Power And Influence Overrated?



The Truth About al Qaeda -- Foreign Affairs

Bin Laden's Files Revealed the Terrorists in Dramatic Decline.

Summary:

New information discovered in Osama bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan suggests that the United States has been vastly overstating al Qaeda's power for a full decade. The group appears to have spent more time dodging drone strikes and complaining about money than trying to get an atomic bomb.

The chief lesson of 9/11 should have been that small bands of terrorists, using simple methods, can exploit loopholes in existing security systems. But instead, many preferred to engage in massive extrapolation: If 19 men could hijack four airplanes simultaneously, the thinking went, then surely al Qaeda would soon make an atomic bomb.

Read more ....

My Comment: With hindsight .... a reexamination of our "war against terror" will one day be done. This Foreign Affairs article is a start.

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