'Al Qaeda expanding, capable of inflicting mass casualties in US'

Months before US President Barack Obama declared that the al Qaeda was "on a path to defeat", his aides had been telling Congress that the terrorist network was expanding and was capable of inflicting mass casualties in the US.

The Washington Times quoted retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, who has advised US commanders in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as saying that he totally disagrees with the premise that al Qaeda is on the path to defeat.

On the contrary, Keane said, al Qaeda has deliberately decentralized its operations because its strategic objective is to dominate and control Muslim countries in the region. As such, al Qaeda must extend its geographic reach, which is not only successful but is expanding, he added.

Gen. Keane said that while al Qaeda's core has been badly damaged by the loss of senior leaders, including Osama bin Laden, it has established itself in other countries where it did not exist on Sept. 11, 2001. He listed the countries - Libya, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Mali, Yemen - where al Qaeda spinoffs are growing.

Gen. Keane's assertions that al Qaeda remains powerful seems to be supported by administration witnesses earlier this year.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that the threat from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), particularly with airliners, has not dissipated over the years. There's still that threat out there, he said.

Matthew Olsen, who heads the National Counterterrorism Center, said al Qaeda is still trying to recruit attackers in the US.

Navy Adm. William H. McRaven, who directs US Special Operations Command, which targets individual terrorists and cells, testified that it is not enough to target a single al Qaeda group because the network establishes alliances with like-minded Islamic extremists, and cited the example of North Africa.

CIA Director John O. Brennan, Mr. Obama's former counterterrorism adviser, said the US remains at war with al Qaeda and its associated forces and still seek to carry out deadly strikes against the US and its allies.