Could a Weak Al-Qaida Mean a Stronger Taliban?

Sometimes I can't help but to be amazed at our news agencies that take decent news and spin it in such a way that we sometimes walk away mumbling to ourselves as to what we just heard. It's as if someone has decided that good news is hazardous to our health. I don't think that anyone is ready to dance in the street over the news of the possible weakness of al-Qaida but certainly a little good news won't hurt. I would like to believe that soon the numbers will also include the Taliban as well. Then may be our brave men and women will be able to come home to stay.

"CIA Director Leon Panetta said Sunday that al-Qaida is probably at its weakest since the Sept. 11 attacks because of U.S.-led strikes, with only 50 to 100 militants operating inside Afghanistan and the rest hiding along Pakistan's mountainous western border." "Panetta said the U.S. hasn't had good intelligence on Osama bin Laden's whereabouts for years and that the terrorist network is finding smarter ways to try to attack the United States." "Of greatest concern, he said, is al-Qaida's reliance on operatives without previous records or those living in the U.S.?" (Flaherty, Anne; 6/27/2010, Associated Press, CIA chief says Al-Qaida at weakest point in years, Retrieved from www.news@yahoo.com).

Would like to hear from those who were so against the escalation of American forces citing that may never happen or those who kept condemning this president when he made that choice. I guess it really doesn't matter what he says or does. Some people think that the date previously spoken regarding the withdrawal/reduction of American troops will not happen as previously predicted but if these numbers continue to decrease and the Taliban is weaken extremely as well, why not. Either way, I think that if the concern is the return of America military personnel once we leave, I believe that the only return would be those who are operating the drones and no soldiers on the ground, but then that's just my opinion and I could be wrong.