It is quite telling that if President Obama had to construct a strategy for defeat, it would not differ from what he and his aides describe as America’s way forward.

The anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death last week focused attention briefly on the continued threat posed by al Qaeda Central. But what about al Qaeda's franchises elsewhere, like al Shabaab in Somalia? The viability of the threat these groups pose to the U.S. deserves more careful consideration than it has received.

The news that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula nearly blew up a US aircraft last week is a reminder of its continuing strength.

The temptation to declare victory in the "global war on terror" is, a decade after 9/11, very strong. But Osama bin Laden was only a part of the problem of the "greater Middle East," and the so-called "Long War" will continue.

Bin Laden's murder is not the end of Al Qaeda. And even if Al Qaeda were totally eliminated, the world would still have to deal with Al Qaeda's progenitor. Just how likely is it that Egypt will end up-after the inevitable transition period-being ruled indirectly or directly by the Muslim Brotherhood?

Our national security would be better served if the United States captured al-Asiri and kept him alive for questioning, so we can find out what he knows.

There’s no need to be defensive; the president made a good call on bin Laden, but his courage in that instance pales next to a record that includes his embrace of American decline, his fear of American leadership, his degradation of the military (and not just the Navy, as the Romney campaign appears to think).