Since 9/11, the United States Government has spent close to $1 trillion fighting Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Just over 5,000 US soldiers and approximately 1,300 contractors have died. Somewhere between 180,000 and 200,000 Afghan and Iraqi soldiers and civilians also have died.  A recent article in The Guardian suggests that Al Qaeda’s senior leadership is just six to eight people, the number of core operatives is about 200 people, and its popularity is plummeting.  Isn’t it time to get some perspective?  I am uncertain how much Al Qaeda spent planning 9/11, but I bet it was a lot less than $1 trillion.  Is it really necessary to have an entire foreign policy devoted to fighting a few hundred Jihadists whose popularity is on the wane?

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