Al Qaeda: Quietly and Patiently Rebuilding

As ISIS incurs the firepower of the international community, al Qaeda has quietly rebuilt its resources, rebranded itself, and “rehabilitated its image” explains terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman. In an October interview with The Cipher Brief, Hoffman said al Qaeda has been “maneuvering to affect some kind of a forced merger or a takeover or even a voluntary amalgamation with ISIS” and the merger of both groups “would be very dangerous, especially if al Qaeda got their hands on ISIS’ external operations network in Europe.”

The Cipher Brief: What is your overall assessment of the current state of core al Qaeda and its affiliates? Is the group’s strength in its core or in its affiliates around the globe?