Al-Qaeda has served as the principal enemy of the U.S. War on Terror launched after 9/11 for over twenty years. Osama bin Laden, the group’s infamous founder, was killed in Pakistan over a decade ago but al-Qaeda continued without him and now encompasses regional terrorist affiliates stretching from Africa to Asia. Al-Qaeda maintains close relations with the Taliban and maintains the expressed intent to target the West, particularly the United States. However, al-Qaeda central failed to conduct a single successful terrorist attack against the United State or Europe throughout the 2010s and its capabilities are degraded according to most official assessments.
Should the al-Qaeda threat still give leaders in Washington pause or does the group represent yesterday’s fight? How should policymakers approach al-Qaeda and prioritize it relative to other threats, including non-terrorist threats like climate change and global pandemics? Is there a way to mitigate al-Qaeda’s potential harm while shifting the national focus elsewhere? What is the legacy of the War on Terror vis-à-vis al-Qaeda?
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