WASHINGTON—As the 10th anniversary of the al-Qaeda attack of Sept. 11, 2001, approaches, it may be a good time to examine how effective the United States has been in repelling terrorist attacks. The United States has not succumbed to another catastrophic attack like 9/11, although several attacks have been attempted and at least three have been successful, such as the Fort Hood shooting in 2009, in which 13 people were killed.
Under the Obama administration, the mission has often been stated: to disrupt, degrade, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaeda and its affiliates and adherents. Much has been accomplished. The federal government has made progress in breaking down barriers between intelligence gathering entities, and cooperation has increased between federal, state, and local law enforcement. In the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, al-Qaeda has been on the run. Its only leader, Osama bin Laden, was slain in an April 29 raid, and much of its top leadership has been killed by special forces predatory drone attacks.
“The number of al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan and Pakistan combined has shrunk from the level in 2001, when it was probably over 1,000,” wrote Seth G. Jones, senior political scientist at RAND and a former representative for the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.
In May, Gen. David Petraeus estimated that only 50 to 100 al-Qaeda fighters move back and forth in eastern Afghanistan.
“U.S. efforts have disrupted al-Qaeda’s command and control, communications, morale, freedom of movement, and fundraising,” said Jones.
As a result of al-Qaeda weakening, it has not had a successful terrorist attack in the West since July 2005, when four suicide bombers staged devastating attacks in London, killing 56 people and injuring more than 700 others. Al-Qaeda has repeatedly tried and failed to conduct a follow-on attack in the United States, according to Jones.
Despite American successes in putting al-Qaeda on the defensive, it continues to pose a significant threat to the United States. According to the 2011 “National Strategy for Counterterrorism,” an official U.S. document signed by the President Obama last June, al-Qaeda’s ideology resonates with many individuals who “accept al-Qaeda’s agenda, whether through formal alliance, loose affiliation, or mere inspiration. Affiliated movements have taken root far beyond al-Qaeda’s core leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
