Three faculty experts agree the death of Osama bin Laden is significant but should have little effect on Al-Qaeda. The terrorist network was in decline before bin Laden was killed, and its loose organization makes the central leader less important.
Leonard Binder (http: //www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/catalog-record.aspx?rid=11363) is distinguished professor of political science and past director of the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies. James Gelvin (http: //www.history.ucla.edu/people/faculty?lid=289) is professor of history and an expert on the social and cultural history of the modern Middle East. David Rapoport (http: //newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-faculty-experts-advisory-202442.aspx) is professor emeritus of political science and the editor of Terrorism and Political Violence (http: //www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/09546553.asp), the most heavily cited academic journal on terrorism.
For more UCLA faculty specialists on Al-Qaeda and international terrorism, visit this UCLA Newsroom page (http: //newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-faculty-experts-advisory-202442.aspx).
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