Only one senior al Qaeda leader left. And what that means.

[Robb]

17. As I said upthread, that's a tough sell.

AQAP are a bunch of bastards, but their capability -- even generously assessed -- doesn't begin to approach the threat level of al Qaeda circa 2001.

Consider how much they're pumping up Abu Yahya al-Libi. It's way out of character for this admin. BBC's Mark Mardell noted this yesterday in his critical piece "Obama's drone policy dilemma":

But American officials are so keen to trumpet their latest drone kill that it sounds like they are about to offer him a job rather than announce they have killed a bitter enemy.

They say he was "experienced", "versatile", played a "critical role" as a "longstanding member of the leadership" who had "gravitas" and "religious credentials".

Rather like some official announcement of the retirement of a colleague, they continue: "[Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-]Zawahiri will be hard-pressed to find any one person who can readily step into Abu Yahya's shoes."

"There is no-one who even comes close in terms of replacing the expertise AQ has just lost," they add.

Mardell opines that it's being done to pump up Obama's war credentials for the election, which is possible. But I'm suggesting it makes far more sense -- if your goal is truly to end the "long national nightmare" of the war on terror -- to accentuate the blows al Qaeda's been delivered. Mardell's theory also doesn't explain the level of "al Qaeda's not a threat anymore" we've been getting from counterterrorism officials.