Predicting al Qaeda’s Second Strike in America

Michael Scheuer, former chief of CIA’s bin Laden Unit and author of the best-selling screed, “Imperial Hubris,” is back. At AFA’s conference, he expressed his belief that al Qaeda will strike again on American soil. He gave no time prediction, saying the strike could come one year or 10 years from now. Al Qaeda is very patient, he explained. Scheuer has nearly 20 years experience in Middle East matters. In his address (which he presented in the form of a faux letter from an al Qaeda terrorist living in the US), Scheuer advanced the idea that American power and wealth is not an obstacle to terrorist operations because al Qaeda has “yet to feel the impact” of it. He goes on to say the occupation of Iraq simply fuels anti-American sentiment in the Middle East. Al Qaeda’s task is made easier by the “leaderless Islamic world” in which many see bin Laden as a unifying force.