Fighting them there, ctd

Will responds to that last post here. I’m guilty of oversimplifying in that last post; drawing foreign born fighters to Iraq/Afghanistan where they are more easily killed and distracted from planning more substantive offensives on Western soil is only one way that the war on terror has disrupted al Qaeda and its affiliates, albeit an important one. Additionally, the FBI and Interpol have done a fantastic job of interdicting the flow of money to extremists (as E.D. mentions in the comments to Will’s post), and the US military has decimated the leadership of al Qaeda, even if it hasn’t cut off the head.*

That being said, I think that Will is probably underestimating the importance of “not giving [terrorists] room to breathe, time to plan, or a place to hide.” 9/11 was driven by al Qaeda’s leadership; they provided funding, a timeframe, and the plan, as the 9/11 Commission Report points out. It’s easy to say “Well, how difficult is it really to plan such a simple operation while simultaneously plotting battlefield activities on innumerable fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan, trying to figure out how to circumvent the funding restrictions imposed upon us, and running for our lives every time we see a Predator drone buzzing overhead?” But I think it’s harder than Will makes out; without a safe haven in Afghanistan, I don’t think 9/11 could have happened.

*I’m still halfway convinced that bin Laden is dead. It’s just a gut feeling. If he was still alive we’d be seeing constant video broadcasts calling for jihad instead of the occasional video where his face freezes everytime something recent is mentioned and the occasional audio message.