Al-Qaida on the run
Atiyah Abd al-Rahman was al-Qaida's second-in-command Credit: AP
The CIA killed al-Qaida's second-in-command last week with a drone attack in the mountains of Pakistan. If you hadn't heard, or paid little heed, you're not alone. There was a pretty big storm here.
Still, the fact that the death of al-Qaida's top operational planner, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, caused no great stir is good news for the United States and really bad news for al-Qaida. It's a sign of the organization's waning significance since 9/11, and the success of the U.S. war on terrorists.
Al-Qaida just isn't the fearsome specter it was in years past, a crippling reversal of fortune for an organization whose only strategy is to sow terror.
Al-Rahman was elevated after Osama bin Laden's death in May, so his tenure was short-lived -- another bad sign for al-Qaida. Its leaders have a short life expectancy these days. Although bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy Seals in a raid on his suburban compound, unmanned drones have become the administration's weapon of choice against al-Qaida operatives in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.
The aggressive pursuit of al-Qaida's leadership has degraded its operational capabilities. Meanwhile, victorious Arab Spring rebellions in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia have undercut the credibility of the organization's message -- that the West is the enemy -- and its murderous methods.
Victory will be assured when we no longer need to give al-Qaida a moment's thought. hN
