Al Qaeda’s Strength Extends to Syria and Beyond

The war against Al Qaeda has entered its 12th year, and some believe that the end is near.
The Pentagon’s Chief lawyer Jeh Johnson addressed the Oxford Union Society a few weeks ago and announced that the current conflict with the terrorism organization had neared a “tipping point.”
But despite the significant damage that the core of Al Qaeda has sustained over the past decade, conflicts in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East have allowed for a resurgence of power within less organized Al Qaeda affiliates.
Daniel Byman is a research director and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy and a professor at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program.