Fascinating analysis of the future prospects of al-Qa'ida, based on thorough research and good evidence from different sources. The authors discuss their reasonable hypothesis that 'the repudiation of al-Qa'ida's leaders by its former religious, military and political guides will help hasten the implosion of the jihadist terrorist movement.' An eye-opener.

These are reputable anti-terrorist writers who seem to have the story right: al-Qaeda's willingness to kill civilians, particularly Muslim civilians, is undermining their support around the world. The question is whether AQ has morphed into a Leaderless Jihad, as Marc Sagemen contends, or remains a centralized organization as Bruce Hoffman believes. The two have contended in public on the subject and the answer is not clear who is right. This article tends to downplay the future threat; its central thesis, that AQ has alienated moderate Muslims, may well be true in much of the Muslim world, but doesn't seem to hold in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

This is an excellent, hopeful story that demonstrates how dangerous and dysfunctional it is to demonize Muslims. It is they who will defeat Islamic terrorists, and this story reveals how that is unfolding in the Muslim world. It is increasingly rarer these days to find such in-depth analysis in the mainstream media, especially the nightly broadcast news where "gotcha" sound bites rule the day.