Terrorism After Bin Laden Turns to Smaller Strategic Targets

The 10-year, U.S.-led campaign against al-Qaeda has claimed Osama bin Laden and many of his top lieutenants while failing to extinguish the threat they posed. Islamic militants have adapted to the war on terror, creating new dangers that are harder to detect and defeat.

Terrorists inspired by bin Laden’s violent message are determined to carry out smaller attacks and remain fixated on aviation and economic targets such as oil and gas fields, pipelines, transportation routes and refineries, according to counterterrorism experts inside and outside the government.