"And Then There Was One: Down Goes Abu Yahya al-Libi!"

It's time to Break It Down!

 On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asserted that the previous day was “A date that will live in infamy.”  On December 7^th, of course, the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, and in the process, emphatically and irrevocably introduced the United States to the nitty-gritty aspects of World War II. 

There is no question, had he chosen to do so, President George W. Bush could have said the same of September 11, 2001.  Almost certainly, those old enough to remember the essential events of the day recall with vivid precision what they were doing that day.  The Pentagon, a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Twin Towers in Manhattan were the sites of terrorist attacks of a rank and order never before experienced in the United States. 

Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda is credited with having been the inspiration and force behind the four plane crashes turned suicide bombings that resulted in killing nearly 3,000 people in Manhattan, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania.  Bin Laden, a Muslim cleric, a top terrorist target by the United States after those bombings, nevertheless remained at-large for nearly a decade.  The FBI issued a $25 million dollar bounty on him.  After being sought for nearly a decade, bin Laden was shot and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan by Navy Seals and CIA operatives in a raid ordered by President Barack Obama. 

Over the course of President Obama’s term in office, he and his administration have made finding and killing top terrorist targets a high priority.  The administration reports that earlier this week, Abu Yahyaal-Libi was killed in a drone attack in an area known as Pakistan’s lawless frontier region.  According to U.S. intelligence officials, the death of al-Libi leaves al Qaeda’s ranks so depleted there is no obvious successor. 

Peter Bergen, a CNN national security analyst notes that “15 of the most important al Qaeda leaders have been killed CIA drone strikes” under President Obama.  The addition of the direct assault on bin Laden, in concert with al-Libi’s killing this week means that there is only senior Al Qaeda leader left, Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who became the leader of al Qaeda after the death of bin Laden.

There is a fair amount of speculation that al-Zawahiri is likely to be too pre-occupied with his own survival to effectively plan, export, and execute significant terror strikes abroad.  The sheer recognition of the fate of a series of al Qaeda operatives, including bin Laden, will undoubtedly have some bearing on his actions, if not his plans; probably both.

One U.S. official described al-Libi as “one of al-Qaeda’s most experienced and versatile leaders.”  His death may hold particular gravitas because of his status as a spiritual leader, as well as due to his acumen as the organization’s operational manager.  White House spokesman Jay Carney framed al-Libi’s death as “damaging to the morale & cohesion of al Qaeda” in the post-bin Laden era.

Bergen, for his part, suggests that fearing al Qaeda in its present day form is more irrational than concern about lighting strikes.  He goes on to point out that for example, lone wolf Jihadists have killed 17 Americans since 9/11, while 54 Americans are reported to be killed each year by lightening strikes, according to the National Weather Service.  By that calculation, lightening strikes are about 30 times more deadly than Jihadist terrorism.

To be sure, there is still work to be done in reducing Homeland Security risks for Americans, and ultimately in making and keeping America safe.  But by all accounts, this President has initiated policies and taken measures that have led to significantly reducing the threat of terrorist attacks.  That fact is underscored by the latest data point in a continuing trend.  To wit, “And Then There Was One: Down Goes Abu Yahya al-Libi!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Yahya_al-Libi

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-strike-said-to-target-al-qaedas-no-2/2012/06/05/gJQAHTZiFV_story.html

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/world/asia/pakistan-drone-libi/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/opinion/bergen-al-qaeda-whos-left/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/06/05/drone-strike-kills-no-2-al-qaeda-leader-in-pakistan/

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/World/Major-al-Qaeda-leaders-killed-in-US-drone-strikes/Article1-866478.aspx

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/05/12070068-deputy-al-qaida-leader-killed-in-pakistan-drone-strike-white-house-confirms?chromedomain=worldnews?lite

http://news.yahoo.com/major-al-qaida-leaders-killed-us-drone-strikes-151248321.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57447601/abu-yahya-al-libi-al-qaeda-deputy-leader-killed-in-u.s-drone-strike/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/9312536/Al-Qaeda-leader-Abu-Yahya-al-Libi-killed-in-US-drone-strike.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18334377

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayman_al-Zawahiri

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targeted_killing

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/27/dead-captured-and-wanted-2/?hpt=hp_c1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Bergen