WASHINGTON -- The claim of responsibility by a local organization with ties to al-Qaida for the recent blasts that rocked Algeria unleashed a wave of Western analysis about the extent to which Osama bin Laden's global terrorist network is being bolstered or replaced by regional groups whose activities where not previously global in scale. Michael Scheuer, former chief of the CIA's "bin Laden unit," contends that while the years since Sept. 11, 2001, have inspired dozens of regional groups to align with al-Qaida's global movement, there is simply "no evidence" the bin Laden-run mother ship is "any less capable" than it was on 9/11. Speaking last week at an event hosted by The Jamestown Foundation and titled, "The Algiers Bombings: Al-Qaeda's Resurgence in North Africa," Scheuer criticized what he called the "common wisdom" of the U.S. intelligence community, which says if enemies don't attack the United States when expected, it must mean they're defeated, incapable of attacking, or have "faded into the blackness."
Algeria Bombings Contain Clues About Al-Qaida’s Current, Future Strength
