Fourth and Long | Benjamin H. Friedman | Cato Institute: Commentary

Fourth and Long | Benjamin H. Friedman | Cato Institute: Commentary: "This process explains why the public overestimates al Qaeda's menace. In its history, it has killed about one-tenth the number of Americans that die annually from the flu. Even in the Taliban's Afghanistan, it never came close to acquiring nuclear or biological weapons. Though friendly militias have harbored al Qaeda in western Pakistan since late 2001, the group has not launched another successful attack against U.S. territory. Opinion polls suggest that the jihadist movement that spawned al Qaeda is waning -- unsurprisingly, for an unappealing ideology that considers even most Muslims legitimate targets for murder."