Following the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, journalist Fareed Zakaria said: ” ‘…a number of people are saying that this does not mean that al Qaeda has been destroyed. Some argue that the organization may, in fact, be thriving. …I understand why officials have to say this. They want to be cautious. They don’t want to overpromise. But the truth is this is a huge, devastating blow to al Qaeda, which had already been crippled by the Arab Spring. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the end of al Qaeda in any meaningful sense of the word.’ ”
– Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Bin Laden’s Legacy, Page 1