U.S. Officials: Al Qaeda Unpopular and ‘Imploding’ But Still A Threat
September 16, 2008 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
Top U.S. counterterrorism officials Monday said Al Qaeda is “imploding” and that its violent tactics have turned Muslims worldwide against the organization.
“Absolutely it’s imploding. It’s imploding because it’s not a message that resonates with a lot of Muslims,” said Dell Dailey, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism.
Al Qaeda still remains the most dangerous threat to the United States. But of growing concern are organizations like Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas, which combine social services, local governance, national politics with extremist attacks, said Undersecretary of State James Glassman.
“These are models that have a lot more popular appeal than Al Qaeda, that has almost no popular appeal,” he said.
Vastly more Muslims than Westerners are killed by Al Qaeda car and suicide bombs, particularly in Iraq, where local tribes have largely turned against Al Qaeda in Iraq in the last two years.
Extremist violence claimed more than 9,500 civilian victims in Muslim countries in 2007.
U.S. intelligence agencies caution against predicting Al Qaeda’s demise too soon, noting its Pakistan safe harbor and the persistent efforts of its affiliates to conduct attacks in North Africa and elsewhere.
