Al Qaeda affiliates have grown dramatically in reach, strength, combat power, and territory controlled. Most notably, the al Qaeda franchise in Iraq rebounded from near-defeat in 2011 to a force that now controls significant areas in Iraq while also operating in Syria. Bin Laden’s successor, Ayman al Zawahiri, continues to mediate between dueling al Qaeda franchises in Syria from his hideout in Pakistan. He’s certainly not too busy running from us to concern himself with such matters.Isn’t that an interesting admission?
By early 2011, writes former defense secretary Robert Gates, he had concluded that President Obama 'doesn’t believe in his own [Afghanistan] strategy, and doesn’t consider the war to be his.'Of course, Krauthammer was not surprised by Gates’ revelation and Obama’s supposed weakness.
