Part 11/12:
Reflecting on the post-9/11 strategy, there's a sense of regret and misplaced optimism. If policymakers had a "time machine" and could revisit the decisions made over the last two decades, many would be surprised to learn that the policies they championed—such as nation-building, troop surges, and peace agreements—have, in some cases, inadvertently strengthened the very entities they aimed to dismantle.
The last twenty years have demonstrated that al-Qaeda is not dead but resilient. It has simply gone underground, rearming and regrouping while the West believed it had won. Moving forward, this reality demands a reassessment of tactics, a realistic understanding of the threat, and a commitment to strategic patience and intelligence-led operations.