Al Qaeda: Setbacks, Strategic Defeats

Al Qaeda On The Run (Wall Street Journal)…Editorial, May 31, 2008
Pg. 10

…It is far too soon to declare victory over al Qaeda. Still, Mr. Hayden’s upbeat assessment is encouraging, and it suggests that President Bush’s strategy of taking the battle to the terrorists is making America safer.

CIA Director Michael Hayden painted a far more optimistic picture in an interview yesterday in the Washington Post. “On balance, we are doing pretty well,” he said. “Near strategic defeat of al Qaeda in Iraq. Near strategic defeat for al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. Significant setbacks for al Qaeda globally – and here I’m going to use the word ‘ideologically’ – as a lot of the Islamic world pushes back on their form of Islam.”