On February 25, 2010, the New America Foundation hosted a panel of experts to analyze Al-Qaeda and exchange their observations. Paul Cruickshank recently examined the testimonies of Western militants and built up, for the audience, a description of Al-Qaeda’s safe haven in Pakistan while Barbara Sude discussed Al-Qaeda’s leadership and structure. Peter Bergen, in a joint-study with Katherine Tiedemann, recently evaluated the effectiveness of drone strikes in Pakistan and presented their findings to the group. Anne Stenersen discussed two relationships: the one between Al-Qaeda and its hosts in Pakistan, and the one between Al-Qaeda and various factions of the Taliban. Stephen Tankel lectured on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), another militant group with some interaction with Al-Qaeda while Daniel Kimmage analyzed the communication operations of Al-Qaeda. Last to speak, Joshua Geltzer discussed the strategic importance of sending the right signal to militant groups, when taking military action.
--Kalie Pierce, Research Intern with the American Strategy Program
For a complete summary of the event, please click here.
