The United States and its allies have severely reduced the capacity for al-Qaeda, the terrorist group behind the 9/11 attacks, to organize or carry out any large-scale terrorist attacks against the U.S. homeland. Recent U.S. intelligence assessments suggest al-Qaeda is weaker than ever in Afghanistan, while experts and international observers continue to warn that al-Qaeda is regenerating. The divergence in depictions of the threat from al-Qaeda leads some Americans to wonder how safe they really are.

Straight Arrow News contributor Katherine Zimmerman believes that while the threat from the formal al-Qaeda organization within Afghanistan is now dramatically reduced, al-Qaeda is not confined to Afghanistan or any other country. Lone-actor and small-scale attacks within the U.S. remain probable, Zimmerman maintains, and al-Qaeda’s threat will only remain in check with sustained counterterrorism pressure.