AL QAEDA ON THE RUN

I came across this World Tribune piece entitled, “Al Qaida is 70 percent gone, their ‘days are numbered’ the other day but didn’t get around to commenting on it. Donald Sensing has taken care of it, explaining why al Qaeda is simply not in the United States’ league militarily, making this outcome inevitable once 9/11 created the political will to act. In an earlier piece, he writes on the strategic aspects of the conflict.

I’m somewhat less optimistic than Don on the prospects of long-term victory in the war on global terrorism. I’m not even sure how one even defines the term when fighting a non-state actor. But I agree with him that constantly killing or capturing their major leaders, disrupting their bases, and making giving them safe harbor unprofitable will go a long way to rendering them a much weaker threat.

FILED UNDER: Terrorism, , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Leathan Lund says:

    Just a quick comment: I’m not exactly sure at what point one declares “victory” in the war on terror either. Personally, I’m not looking for a VT day to match our VE and VJ days.

    Off-hand I’d say one should look for incremental improvements in the general Middle Eastern outlook; a growing tolerance of Western ideas like separation of church and state, democracy, equal rights for women, etc.

    Anyway, congrats on your blog; it’s one of the better I’ve seen!