CNN's Peter Bergen
There wasn’t an empty seat in the house for the keynote event this morning. Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst and author, offered the crowd some very insightful information on where he thinks Al Qaeda–and affiliated movements–are positioned today, and the threats that he sees for the United States in the future.
The good news, said Bergen, is that the probability that the U.S. will experience an attack as large as the 9-11 attacks is close to zero. The American Muslim community has almost entirely rejected the Al Qaeda ideology and the list of Al Qaeda’s enemies is growing every day. However, although these are game-changers for Al Qaeda, terrorists can still be successful even if they don’t enjoy massive support.
Not only is the possibility of home-grown terrorism becoming more of a probability, Bergen explained that the aviation industry remains a critical target. “Commercial aviation is an obsession for Al Qaeda, even though it’s the hardest to get to,” said Bergen. Moreover, Al Qaeda will continue to target Western brand names, in an effort to hurt the U.S. economy (airlines, hotels, oil companies). Bergen concluded by explaining that in most cases of potential terrorism, the parties involved are more “aspirational than operational.” However, it’s naïve to think that the deployment of American suicide bombers is entirely out of the national security picture.
-Vicky Houghton