The LA Times sources believed that counterterrorism had chopped off al-Masri’s tentacles and ground down his networks. With the decimation of his henchmen, the master bomber was forced to venture out himself and train volunteers who were often of indifferent quality.

Volunteers who were presumably also easy to trail and surveille. Thus the remains of his network was decimated from the outside in. Could it also be the case with other leaders of al Qaeda? Could that explain the, until now, presumptive survival of bin Laden and al Zawahiri?