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Podcasts Take Two
What kind of danger does Al Qaeda pose at this point?
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Jan 12, 2015
Listen • 7:17
What kind of danger does Al Qaeda pose at this point?
Last week's attacks in France have raised serious questions about the reach of Islamist militant groups into Western countries.
After today's unity rally in Paris the tributes outside the offices of Charlie Hebdo have now become a carpet of flowers on January 11, 2015 in Paris, France. An estimated one million people are expected to converge in central Paris for the Unity March joining in solidarity with the 17 victims of this week's terrorist attacks in the country. French President Francois Hollande will lead the march and will be joined by world leaders in a sign of unity. The terrorist atrocities started on Wednesday with the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12, and ended on Friday with sieges at a printing company in Dammartin en Goele and a Kosher supermarket in Paris with four hostages and three suspects being killed. A fourth suspect, Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, escaped and is wanted in connection with the murder of a policewoman.
After a unity rally in Paris the tributes outside the offices of Charlie Hebdo became a carpet of flowers on January 11, 2015 in Paris, France.
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Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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Last week's attacks in France have raised serious questions about the reach of Islamist militant groups into Western countries.

Last week's attacks in France have raised serious questions about the reach of Islamist militant groups into Western countries.

Much of the recent attention in the U.S. has focused on the group known as the Islamic State, after it took over territory in Iraq and Syria last year and beheaded several American hostages.

But experts say Al Qaeda, and its offshoots in countries like Yemen, still pose major risks, too.

For more on this, we're joined by Andy Liepman, senior policy analyst with the RAND Corporation. He retired in 2012 as the Principal Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and worked, also, with the CIA.