Is al-Qaeda in Decline?

This post at Powerline summarizing the discussion between Wretchard and Austin Bay about the subtle change in tone in the blogosphere.

John Hinderaker believes taht it may be because al-Qaeda is in decline. While we have forcefully put down al-Qaeda and the various offshoots of that particular organization, the nucleus of the organization still survives and if they are remotely viable, a reconstituted organization can still arise.

Interestingly enough, I believe that the US will not be the arch enemy of al-Qaeda in the future but will be replaced by the Shi'ites. With the emergence of Iran in the region--and the Shia led government in Iraq--we are seeing a near civil war between these two Muslim branches.

Don't get me wrong, America will always be hated and, inconjunction with Israel, that hatred will be used as a thread to hold some kind of Shia-Sunni coalition together. We must still be vigilant, but we may just be winning this battle. The outcome of the greater war is yet to be decided.