Is this still a thing?

The following comes from Greg Miller’s article in the Washington Post on the second issue of Inspire:

“The publication notes with evident pride that AQAP, as the group is known, has come to be seen by CIA analysts as the most potent of al-Qaeda’s affiliates. A key reason is the involvement in the group of Anwar al-Aulaqi, a U.S.-born cleric who speaks fluent English and was tied to the Fort Hood and Christmas Day airline attacks.”

Is this really still widely believed? Do people think that if Anwar al-Awlaqi wasn’t in AQAP then the organization wouldn’t be such a threat?

I certainly hope not, as assumptions like that lead to the mistaken belief that assassinating al-Awlaqi would somehow eliminate or greatly reduce the threat of a strike from AQAP and that, as we say in Nebraska and probably other places, is just lazy wishful thinking.