Nearly a quarter century after September 11, experts warn that al Qaeda remains the most dangerous terrorist group in the world, stronger today than before the attacks that killed 2,977 Americans.
Bill Roggio, senior editor of the Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital that the U.S. has underestimated the group’s resilience. “The most dangerous terrorist group 24 years after 9/11 remains al Qaeda,” Roggio said. “With the support of the Taliban, the situation there is far worse than it was pre-9/11.”
According to Roggio, al Qaeda now runs training camps in at least 13 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces and commands influence across the Middle East and Africa. “Its global organization remains intact,” he explained. “It controls probably more than a third of Somalia and… now controls the government of Syria, with the Hayat Tahir Al Sham as its leader.”
The rise of safe havens continues to alarm counterterror experts. “This is where, when terrorist groups have the time, the space and the security to plot, to execute, to recruit, to raise funds, they can conduct an attack like 9/11 and they have that in multiple places now,” Roggio warned.
Roggio argued the West’s lack of resolve has emboldened jihadist movements. “Our hesitation, our unwillingness, our lack of commitment in these countries has emboldened them,” he said. “Until we remove the state sponsorship, until we are able to effectively deal with the purveyors of the radical ideology, these threats will persist.”
