The House Intelligence Committee will be holding a hearing on “Worldwide Threats” today. The most senior U.S. intelligence officials are scheduled to testify.

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the al Qaeda-led terror network has been rightly seen as the principal threat to America’s national security. But with the killing of Osama bin Laden and other senior terrorist leaders, President Obama and some of his advisors have claimed that al Qaeda is a “shadow of its former self.” They have made this claim even as al Qaeda has undoubtedly gained ground in various jihadist hotspots, including Syria.