The Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) may have grabbed global attention with its brutal terror tactics, but al-Qaeda is still a grave threat to US interests, two national security analysts said April 2 at the Atlantic Council.
Bruce Riedel, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Bruce Hoffman, Director of Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program, discussed the rival terrorist groups and their relative danger to the United States during a panel discussion organized by the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security.
Moderating the panel was Bilal Y. Saab, the center’s Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security.
“Islamic State, by its actions and its very effective communications strategy, has eclipsed al-Qaeda in the American media. But like an eclipse, that’s a very temporary and transitory event,” said Riedel. “Al-Qaeda remains a very serious threat.”