By James Jay Carafano, The Heritage Foundation/Statesman.com
No war can be won by defense alone. There is a reason White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan recently felt confident enough to declare that al Qaeda was "on the ropes." Progress came from taking the offensive. A decade of strenuous effort to disrupt terrorist sanctuaries, take out leaders, pre-empt planning and operations, disaggregate networks, thwart terrorist travel and communications, and disrupt fundraising and recruiting is paying off.