(CNN) December 28, 2013 — Two years after the end of the Iraq war, the U.S. State Department confirmed this week that it is providing the fragile country with sophisticated weapons and drones. Iraq needs help fighting against a growing and serious threat — al Qaeda.
For those who don’t avidly follow the complicated machinations of the globe’s top terror group, this could be confusing.
Hasn’t the line for years from the U.S. government and its allies been that al Qaeda is on the run, that its fiercest fighting ability has been weakened by U.S. strikes?
That truth is far more complex, of course. The terror group’s manpower has increased in recent years, it has gained control of more territory in North Africa and the Middle East and is taking a different approach to death, according to top lawmakers privy to high-level intelligence and experts who have observed al Qaeda’s activities since September 11.
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