Part 2/12:
During the early years of the War on Terror, U.S. officials repeatedly announced significant victories over al-Qaeda. Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump all touted achievements that involved killing or capturing the terrorist group's leadership—almost as if these actions marked the end of al-Qaeda as a threat. President Bush, for instance, had a list where he would cross off the names of top terrorists believed to be eliminated, claiming that about 75% of al-Qaeda's leadership was dead. Later, President Obama bolstered these assertions by asserting another 66% had been killed.