Most victims of al-Qaida bombings and attacks are Muslims, McConnell said. In Iraq, the violence perpetrated against Iraqis by insurgents associated with al-Qaida pushed local tribes to turn against the group and has led to improved security, he said, adding that the same pattern may take hold elsewhere.
"In the last year to 18 months, al-Qaida has had difficulty in fundraising and sustaining themselves," McConnell said.
CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden said there seems to be increasing willingness in the Islamic world to question al-Qaida's vision. As evidence, he pointed to the fact that al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al Zawahiri, now has a Web site to which readers can submit questions.
"I think it is a remarkable step and I don't think reflective of overconfidence on the part of al-Qaida leadership," Hayden said.
McConnell noted that more than 1,300 Pakistanis — civilians and troops — were killed in terrorist attacks and armed clashes in 2007, more than in the six previous years combined.
The Pakistani government now realizes that extremists threaten Pakistan's existence, he said.
"The dialogue we are engaged in now is, how do we help them help themselves?" McConnell said.
The jihadis have alienated the Arab street. Al Qaeda invaded Iraq after we eliminated Saddam's regime and reaped the consequences of their killing spree against innocent Moslem civilians, including women and children. Our anti-war side amazingly managed to make a prediction exactly 180 degrees away from the results.
But hey, these are the same military geniuses who claimed that our massive killing rate against jihadis in Iraq was essentially a training ground for jihadis rather than the killing ground we turned it into. And they judged that our historically low casualties have broken our Army rather than making it battle hardened.
The Moslem world has realize that al Qaeda are a bunch of thugs and killers rather than "Minute Men." When will our Left come to the same conclusion rather than protest outside of Marine recruiting stations?
More evidence the anti-war side's opinions on military matters are worthless.
