ABSTRACT
This chapter shows US actions toward al-Qa'ida that have focused most heavily on defeating the organization, with less attention paid to its ideology and almost no attention given to al-Qa'ida's aims to create a social movement. US efforts to counter the al-Qa'ida phenomenon that have focused primarily on dismantling the organization by capturing or killing its leaders, freezing its financial assets, and denying the organization sanctuary in Afghanistan. Targeting al-Qa'ida's leaders and assets has undoubtedly affected the organization's capabilities. The challenge for the United States in its fight against al-Qa'ida is to find a means to target the organization and other groups that claim a connection to al-Qa'ida in a way that does not validate their ideology and attract Muslims to its camp. The change in al-Qa'ida's command and control structure, caused in large part by US operations against the organization, appears to have helped set the stage for these self-destructive operations: a good thing for the United States.
