“The 9/11 attack turned out to be a Pyrrhic victory for Al Qaeda. America could have credibly declared itself the war’s winner at the end of 2001, sparing countless lives, trillions of dollars and our national honor. In time ISIS, originally a spinoff of Al Qaeda, came to eclipse the group founded by Bin Laden. Today Al Qaeda has reconstituted itself — it is now far larger than it was two decades ago. “The painful condition of neither peace nor victory, against an enemy seen as practically subhuman, itself required vengeance,” Ackerman wrote.

Source: International New York Times September 09, 2021 23:48 UTC