Los Angeles Times

Seventeen years after Sept. 11, al-Qaida may be stronger than ever

BEIRUT - In the days after Sept. 11, 2001, the United States set out to destroy al-Qaida. President George W. Bush vowed to "starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest."

Seventeen years later, al-Qaida may be stronger than ever. Far from vanquishing the extremist group and its associated "franchises," critics say, U.S. policies in the Mideast appear to have encouraged its spread.

What U.S. officials didn't grasp, said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intelligence Group, in a recent phone interview, is that al-Qaida is more than a group of individuals. "It's an idea, and an idea cannot be destroyed using sophisticated weapons and killing leaders and bombing training camps," she said.

The group has amassed the largest fighting force in its existence. Estimates say it may have more than 20,000

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times5 min read
Fireworks, Drones, Travis Scott Hats: USC Hosts Alternative Graduation Event. Feelings Are Mixed
No valedictorian speech. No celebrity speakers. No main-stage ceremony, and no massive graduate walk to “Pomp and Circumstance” before tens of thousands of guests. Instead, the University of Southern California’s graduating seniors — whose traditiona
Los Angeles Times2 min read
Woman Claiming To Be Real Martha Tells Piers Morgan 'Baby Reindeer' Is 'Hyperbole'
Will the real Martha Scott please stand up? At least one woman has now done so: In an interview with British television presenter Piers Morgan that was posted to his YouTube channel on Thursday, 58-year-old Scotswoman Fiona Harvey claims to be the ba
Los Angeles Times5 min readWorld
Commentary: Since The Hamas Attack, Israelis Have Begun Arming Themselves The American Way
Among the core Israeli national narratives that have been fractured by the Hamas terror attacks and months of war and violence is the notion that Israel’s ethos on firearms differs from that of the United States. Both countries can be characterized a

Related Books & Audiobooks