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    What Happened to al-Qaeda?
    Geopolitics

    What Happened to al-Qaeda?

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    1. theatlantic on

      Twenty-five years after 9/11, analysts can’t decide whether al‑Qaeda got what it wanted, Graeme Wood reports: 

      Today, about half the world’s population is too young to remember the attacks. “Those who do will recall both the horror of the imagery—­thousands dying on live television, in seconds—­and the disorientation of the day. Nobody knew whether the four planes were the only ones, or whether 40 more were hurtling toward other targets,” Wood writes. 

      “If fear was the goal: mission accomplished. But fear was the means, not the end. The end was political change. And any assessment of al‑Qaeda, both on 9/11 and in the ensuing decades, should ask whether it leveraged that fear to bring about the political results it sought,” Wood continues.

      Read more: [https://theatln.tc/RyvtgYXa](https://theatln.tc/RyvtgYXa) 

      — Katie Anthony, associate editor, audience and engagement, *The Atlantic*

    2. shibbledoop on

      I always wonder if the Taliban regretted harboring Bin Laden since they cared more about Afghan control than whatever Al Qaedas goals were.

    5. aig818 on

      They got decapitated and replaced by another group/s. Still around, still capable, but nowhere near what they used to be.

    7. Michelangelor on

      ISIS became the more dominant jihadist movement and attracted thousands away from al-Qaeda’s movement, and al-Qaeda became more regional and less globally organized

    8. NextStomach6453 on

      The leader of an offshoot branch is running Syria currently. They’re still alive as an organization. 

    10. optrin on

      It probably would also “backfire” against al-Qaeda, but it’s so interesting he considered attacking the Strait of Hormuz to hurt financially the US economy.