President Obama says core al Qaeda is a shadow of its former self, also invents term, 'core al Qaeda'

Brett T. | 8:06 PM on December 06, 2016

President Obama gave his last national security address Tuesday afternoon, and from the sound of things, he’s been a very effective commander-in-chief. Just look at the sorry state of core al Qaeda.

"By any measure, core al Qaeda—the organization that hit us on 9/11—is a shadow of its former self." —@POTUS https://t.co/2MFs3kGvRH

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) December 6, 2016

No, not by any measure. Obama's notion of "core al Qaeda" is vacuous. Admin's own memo documents AQ's growth in Syria, Yemen + elsewhere. https://t.co/peyhTcMC6d

— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) December 6, 2016

Just what is the president’s notion of “core al Qaeda”? Is that like the varsity team, or what?

Please define "core al Qaeda" and while you're at it, please define "shadow of its former self" https://t.co/dtn3KPf6GQ

— Avi B. (@avijustin) December 6, 2016

Good to know that it was "core" al Qaeda that was the problem, we wouldn't want anyone to confuse them with the "good" al Qaeda #justleave https://t.co/JxiD5JcvgP

— Mark Young (@MarkYoungTruth) December 7, 2016

https://twitter.com/cerenomri/status/806272061127663618

Failure? But the way Obama put it, America’s counterterrorism efforts were anything but a failure under his administration.

"Over last 8 years, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland" —@POTUS

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) December 6, 2016

Thomas Joscelyn, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, notes that the president’s claim comes with a number of caveats.

1. Doesn't count "inspired" plots.
2. Intel/FBI stopped some.
3. Got lucky on others.
4. Jihadis spread out, taking territory across MENA. https://t.co/44Hxp70PEK

— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) December 6, 2016