Al Qaeda decline hard to reverse after Bin Laden killing: U.S

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Al Qaeda decline hard to reverse after Bin Laden killing: U.S

WASHINGTON | Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:03pm EDT

(Reuters) - Osama bin Laden's death sent al Qaeda into a decline that will be hard to reverse, the United States said on Tuesday in a report that found terrorist attacks last year fell to their lowest level since 2005.

Describing 2011 as a "landmark year," the United States said other top al Qaeda members killed last year included Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, reportedly the militant organization's No. 2 figure after bin Laden's death, and Anwar al-Awlaki, who led its lethal affiliate in Yemen.

"The loss of bin Laden and these other key operatives puts the network on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse," the State Department said in its annual "Country Reports on Terrorism" document, which covers calendar year 2011.

The report attributed the killings, which included the May 2011 raid in which U.S. commandoes shot bin Laden in Pakistan, to improved global cooperation on counterterrorism. But it stressed that the group and its followers remain adaptable.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/31/us-usa-terrorism-idUSBRE86U15C20120731

[bemildred]

1. They're all busy in Syria right now. nt

[msongs]

2. obama's drone war is not making us any friends, believe it or not nt

[sarisataka]

3. If true,

US intelligence should be looking at other lesser known groups. Al-Qaeda's demise will leave a vacuum which will be filled.

There is lots of hate of the U.S. out there just because. As pointed out, our methods of warfare are seen as 'unfair' and win us very few friends. We also do not have a reputation as being loyal to any but our west European allies, so places like Pakistan, Dubai etc. always wonder when our loyal to them will be traded for a different U.S. interest.

A little diplomacy over the next decade will pay bigger dividends than any future conflict can mitigate.