The current conventional wisdom in Washington is that al-Qaeda (AQ) is no longer a real threat and that it has been dismantled by the US drone attacks in conflict areas. That is nothing but wishful thinking and shortsightedness.

Over the past five months, critical events have occurred in the on-going dispute between al-Qaeda’s leadership and the Syrian-Iraqi jihadist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS). 

A recent move by al-Qaeda's wing in Syria, the al-Nusra Front, illustrates again the importance of social media for the global jihadi movement and its effect on the evolution in jihadi online platforms.

In an unexpected and unprecedented turn of events, al-Qaeda members and jihadists from all over the world who embrace the ideology of global jihad are now doubting the group's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and calling for his removal.

On December 5, 2013, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) joined the long list of al-Qaeda affiliates with a presence on Twitter.