A lot of points that I disagree with, I'll reply soon - need to get something done.
Take your time, no rush.
One thing though - the USA's mission WRT al qaeda was to eliminate its capability to strike the US ever again. Which they did.
That's true. But I feel that is more of an achievement gained through internal goals. Homeland security, CIA's focus on internal threats too.
But do note that Al Qaeda while it may not have been able to mount a 9/11 like attack, irrelevant of what was to happen in Afghanistan after 9/11. I think the same would also be true, much of it you see right before you, walk in to a major airport, you will be screened thoroughly. Couple that with the intel effort to take on any leads on suspects and you have much of the what we perceived as being achieved from the war at large.
My point being, the invasion of Afghanistan and taking on the taliban did not lead to this goal being achieved.
9/11 has not happened again,
No but, what did happen was that Al Qaeda which is a vermin organization spread itself in the Muslim world, as many saw their cause as valid.
My outlook on the war from the get go was that the US lost it before it began. It was decisions they made in anger and not their better judgement. But then again, if I cast my mind back, I don;t see any way around the desire for revenge.
So, while there was no 9/11.
There were countless other attacks made by Al Qaeda, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Western Europe, Pakistan and so on. Also many foiled attempts by people linked to Al Qaeda, which is a success based on internal measures, not the war.
and the al qaeda network is impotent today, all their leaders were killed.
I disagree with this notion that Al Qaeda are defeated. I think Osama died a happy man, he wanted all this to happen, ever heard what he has to say about his reasoning and his drive to do what he did.
He wanted war, a war in which he could make his enemy look like the enemy of Islam, where he could spread his extremely remote, fringe ideology.
And he did it. Al Qaeda today is everywhere. Most recently, they showed up in Syria. But they've been around in Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq and in small numbers elsewhere.
Adding to that, this group that no-one had ever heard of became famous, inspiring many lone individuals to conduct their own acts of terror.
By far the worst example is what happened right here in our region. Before the invasion of Afghanistan, a huge great deal of even the most extreme elements distanced themselves from Al Qaeda and their ideology, the invasion united many parties on to a convenient cause.
The taliban, an organization of thousands upon thousands of members absorbed Al Qaeda members and their ideology. That was a frightening aspect that no-one saw. Result: suicide bombers, today, both the Afghan talibs and the TTP proudly accept responsibility for killing civilians en masse.
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