Strategic Assessment
Like other historical milestones, the second anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the United States provides a good opportunity for critical evaluation. It invites an interim assessment of the successes and failures of the offensive launched by the US-led international coalition against terrorism and terrorist organizations, first and foremost al-Qaeda and its affiliates. Examining the unique characteristics of Bin Laden’s terrorist network and the manner in which it wages its battle may clarify the apparent disparity between the military defeat inflicted by the United States on the Taliban’s Islamic regime and on al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and the common feeling both inside and outside the US that al-Qaeda and its brand of international terrorism is far from defeated.