Context
Al Qaeda may flee Afghanistan and South Asia, according to America’s new intelligence chief David Petraeus. In a hearing by the Joint Intelligence Committee of the House of Senate, the new CIA chief remarked that Al- Qaeda could fragment within 18-24 months. He said loss of leadership suffered by the terrorist organization have made it vulnerable; eight of the Al-Qaeda’s top 20 leaders have been killed this year including the group’s leader, Osama bin Laden.
The former American military commander in Afghanistan told the Congressional Committee, the US needed a “sustained, focused effort” in the region to drive out Al-Qaeda.