Just as President Obama claimed ISIS had been contained nine hours before the attacks on Paris, so too Secretary of State John Kerry said al Qaeda was neutralized just before the massacre in Mali.
"I'm confident if we stay steady, keep our heads in thinking creatively but also being strong and committed to our fundamental values, we're going to defeat Daesh. We always said it will take time. We began our fight against al Qaeda in 2001 and it took us quite a few years before we were able to eliminate Osama bin Laden and the top leadership and neutralize them as an effective force. We hope to do Daesh much faster than that and we think we have an ability to do that. So that's the effort, and we're going to continue," Kerry claimed.
Islamist militant group al Mourabitoun said it carried out the Mali attack on Friday with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Jihadists yelling “allahu akbar” stormed a U.S.-owned hotel in the former French colony that was filled with international guests. At least 21 people died in the attack, including one American.
Obama administration officials would do well to refrain from making premature assessments about the vitality of both ISIS and al Qaeda for the foreseeable future.
Notebook