Today, Al-Qaeda confirmed on an Islamic militant website that Abu Khabab al-Masri, was indeed killed in the missile strike of July 28th. Al-Masri was known as Al Qaeda's top bomb maker and he actively sought to gain a WMD capability for the group as well.
There is still a question about the fate of Al Qaeda #2. Ayman al-Zawahiri was rumored to be wounded or dead on August 1, but there has been no confirmation of what his status is by either the US or Al Qaeda.
Although killing the leaders of terrorist organizations is a key compenent of any counter-terrorism strategy, it still is only a component, especially when it comes to an international organization like Al Qaeda. Overall, small tactical victories like the assassination of Masri will be meaningless if there is no long term plan to stop young men from joining such organizations and trying to become the next Masri. The real fight is not in blowing up Al Qaeda's safehouses in Pakistan's tribal areas. We have to help the Pakistani government give these young men something worth living for and not something worth dying for.
