the death or capture of about half of the top 30 known leaders of al-Qaeda as meaning that al-Qaida has lost half of its overall membership. The recent report from the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) suggested that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq may have boosted the ranks of al-Qaeda.

From The Associated Press story:

Although about half of al-Qaeda's top 30 leaders have been killed or captured, it has an effective leadership, with bin Laden apparently still playing a key role, it said.

[...]

The report suggested that the two military centerpieces of the U.S.-led war on terror — the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — may have boosted al-Qaeda.

Driving the terror network out of Afghanistan in late 2001 appears to have benefited the group, which dispersed to many countries, making it almost invisible and hard to combat, the story said.

[...]

The IISS said its estimate of 18,000 al-Qaeda fighters was based on intelligence estimates that the group trained at least 20,000 fighters in its camps in Afghanistan before the United States and its allies ousted the Taliban regime. In the ensuing war on terror, some 2,000 al-Qaeda fighters have been killed or captured, the survey said.

I will be visiting my nephew in Sweden later this year. The only potential weapons that will be available to me to defend against terrorists, thieves and drunkards will be my Chinese-made REI Monarch III GTX boots (kangaroo leather), my fearless French-made Gitzo carbon fiber tripod, my nephew (an Army vet), and my brain.

I will not be visiting Mr. Ã….