4.2: Al-Qaeda

Disrupting, Dismantling, and Defeating Al-Qaeda

Other Information:

President Obama and the Democratic Party understood that the war in Iraq distracted us from confronting many of the most fundamental national security challenges facing the United States, including the danger posed by international terrorist organizations that threaten the American homeland. As the Bush administration shifted its focus to Iraq, Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda established safe havens across the border from Afghanistan, in Pakistan. President Obama's decision to end the Iraq war freed up military and intelligence resources to refocus on this fight and enabled us to shift to a much more effective approach to counterterrorism. Importantly, President Obama also shifted away from the Bush administration's sweeping and internationally-divisive rhetoric of a "global war on terrorism" to a more focused effort against an identifiable network of people: al-Qaeda and its affiliates. That has allowed us to target force with greater precision against those who want to harm Americans and attack the United States and move away from the type of large-scale military deployments characteristic of the previous administration and favored by many Republicans today. As a candidate, then-Senator Obama committed to bringing Osama bin Laden to justice, even if that meant crossing the border into Pakistan. As a consequence of the President's decisions and the brave work of our military and intelligence professionals, bin Laden can no longer threaten the United States and al-Qaeda's senior leadership has been devastated, rendering the group far less capable than it was four years ago. The al-Qaeda core in Afghanistan and Pakistan has never been weaker. We have also struck blows against al-Qaeda's leadership in Yemen and Somalia—with the full support and close cooperation of those governments. At the same time, the President and the Democratic Party understand that we must stay vigilant. The al-Qaeda core may be on the path to defeat, but the organization and its affiliates remain active in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere. For that reason, we are committed to an unrelenting pursuit of those who would kill Americans or threaten our homeland, our allies, our partners, and our interests around the world.

Stakeholder(s):

• Al-Qaeda


• Afghanistan


• Pakistan


• Yemen


• Somalia

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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