With local funds, local teams and local agendas, a limited war on a worldwide scale is being waged against the United States and its allies by groups that have distanced themselves from Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front (IIF) so as to act independently.

... This restructuring took final shape as soon as the US war on Iraq was over. The first country where this took effect was Afghanistan, where effectively al-Qaeda no longer exists. The Taliban, al-Qaeda, the Hezb-i-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hikmatyar and other anti-US mujahideen commanders have now restructured into a new outfit called Saiful Muslameen (Sword of Muslims). The command structure is entirely local, and all foreigners are now fighting along with their Afghan commanders.