Key U.S. officials are not backing down from their assessment that core al-Qaida, while still a threat, is in decline, brushing aside intelligence suggesting the terror organization remains entrenched in Afghanistan and may be growing stronger. For months, tensions have been growing between the United States and its allies over the status of al-Qaida, with some counterterrorism officials arguing Washington is in danger of underestimating the threat posed by the terror group. But the State Department’s top counterterrorism official on Tuesday said al-Qaida has been significantly degraded as a result of U.S. efforts. FILE – State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Ambassador Nathan Sales, speaks during a press conference at the State Department, June 24, 2020, in Washington.”I think al-Qaida’s on the ropes, no doubt,” Counterterrorism Coordinator Ambassador Nathan Sales told the virtual Global Security Forum in a pre-recorded interview. “We have decimated their senior leadership cadre over the past 20 years leaving core al-Qaida leadership really a remnant of its former self,” he said.  Sales’ comments come just a day after U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien similarly downplayed al-Qaida core’s capacity to do harm.  “Al-Qaida’s been incapable of directing a complex, large-scale attack against the U.S. because of the pressure that we’ve kept on them,” he said. “And there’s more to come.” Just how big of a blow al-Qaida’s leadership has suffered of late, though, remains a question.   Neither Sales nor O’Brien addressed recent rumors that al-Qaida’s long-time leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, may have finally succumbed to illness. Nor did they speak to the alleged assassination of Zawahiri’s likely successor, Abu Muhammad al-Masri, in an Israeli operation this past August in Tehran, as first reported by The New York Times. But Sales argued no matter who might be in charge, their influence has waned. “There’s a sense in which the question of who leads al-Qaida core matters is a little bit less today than it did a decade ago, certainly two decades ago,” he told the virtual forum.   “What we have seen is a sort of devolution of authority from al-Qaida core to the branches and affiliates,” Sales said. “Those branches, I think, have an increasing amount of organizational autonomy to develop attack plans to set strategic objectives.” Contrasting assessments But international counterterrorism officials and Afghanistan’s own security officials argue their intelligence suggests al-Qaida core remains relevant and has been growing stronger. Concerns Mount as US Seen Downplaying Al-Qaida Threat in AfghanistanInternational counterterrorism officials fear the White House, bent on bringing troops home from 19 years of war, is failing to recognize al-Qaida’s strength and influence “Senior figures remain in Afghanistan, as well as hundreds of armed operatives,” Edmund Fitton-Brown, coordinator of the United Nations monitoring team for Islamic State, al-Qaida and the Taliban, warned in a webinar last month. Recent U.N. reports, based on member state intelligence, also warn that the group’s core leadership appears to be assembling a growing cadre of fighters, perhaps as many as 600, while operating in 12 Afghan provinces. Such remarks stand in stark contrast to statements by key U.S. officials, which put the number of fighters available to al-Qaida’s core leadership at as little as “a few dozen fighters who are primarily focused on their survival.” The pushback against such rosy assessments, however, is not just coming from U.S. allies and countries with interests in the region. Afghan Taliban & al-Qaida ties A new report on Afghanistan from the Defense Department’s inspector general, released Tuesday, also raised questions about al-Qaida’s staying power, citing Washington’s reliance on the Taliban to sever all ties with the terror group. “It is unclear at this point whether the Taliban is upholding its commitments,” Acting Inspector General Sean O’Donnell wrote, adding, “it is difficult to discern the extent to which it is meeting the requirement that Afghanistan not serve as a haven for terrorists who threaten the United States.” The report also noted that al-Qaida leadership has generally welcomed February’s deal between the U.S. and the Taliban. “It does not require the Taliban to publicly renounce al-Qaida and the deal includes a timeline for the United States and coalition forces to withdraw — accomplishing one of al-Qaida’s main goals,” the report noted. But Sales, who spoke prior to the report’s release, said the terms of the deal signed this past February, “are perfectly clear.” “We are going to be watching very closely to verify,” he said. “We expect them to live up to their obligations.” Al-Qaida affiliates in Africa In the meantime, Sales said the U.S. intends to focus on what it sees as the more pressing danger from al-Qaida’s network of affiliates in Africa, including al-Shabab, Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQOM). “These groups are continuing to fight with a fair degree of operational autonomy, without getting the message that al-Qaida has been eviscerated,” he said, calling the U.S. effort to degrade and defeat al-Shabab “a top priority.” Concerns about the reach of al-Shabab have grown considerably over the past year, escalating sharply after a deadly attack this past January on the Manda Bay Airfield in Kenya, which caught U.S. forces unprepared. US, Europe Split Over Terror Threat from AfricaWhile American officials increasingly talk of a threat to the homeland, allies caution, as of now, there’s nothing to suggest imminent attacks in Europe or the USThere has also been concern that al-Shabab may be interested in the idea of carrying out attacks on the U.S. and the West. In 2019, for example, Philippine authorities arrested a Kenyan national they said was connected to al-Qaida, Cholo Abdi Abdullah, who had been trying to get expedited certification as a pilot. As part of its ongoing campaign against al-Shabab, the U.S. has relied heavily on drone strikes targeting senior leaders. US Drone Strike Kills High-ranking al-Shabab Bomb-maker in SomaliaSeparately, Somali leaders sign pact outlining model for election in which security will be an issueBut Sales said the U.S. is also ramping up efforts on other fronts. “Nobody is making movies about counterterrorism designations or financial sanctions. Nobody is making movies about the hard work of training cops and training judges on how to handle terrorism prosecutions,” he told the Global Security Forum. “But I can tell you, those really are the front lines of the counterterrorism fight in Somalia.” 
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