Mary Habeck, associate professor of strategic studies at John Hopkins University, called for a renewed focus on the threats presented by local al Qaeda groups, Monday afternoon at the Heritage Foundation.
Habeck was referring to the differentiation the United States makes between local groups such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the "core" al Qaeda groups of which Osama bin Laden was a member of.
Local groups are categorized in that manner because they only have regionally concentrated threats, while "core" groups openly plot against the United States and other countries abroad, Habeck went on to explain.
"There are dozens of groups that we believe have local focus and yet they say they have a global focus and that want to carry out attacks on the United States," Habeck said.
Habeck said that while "the system is working," the United States is not giving groups like AQAP "the attention [they] deserve."
"We can only ignore local groups affiliated in some ways with al Qaeda to our own peril," Habeck concluded.