Although ISIS has taken up most of the news stories and attention in the last year, the Paris attacks serve as a reminder that there are other groups out there still waging war, said a former Obama intelligence official.
Former Acting Director of the CIA Mike Morell on CBS's Face the Nation said, "I do think that is something very, very important about all this. we've been focused on ISIS for the last nine months to 12 months. This is a reminder that Al Qaeda is still very dangerous and still very significant threat to the West, Western Europe and United States."
The Al Qaeda group from Yemen took responsibility for the first of the Paris shootings that killed 12 on Wednesday. The group said the attack on Charlie Hebdo was carried out under their direction. Morell said that he can't recall a time when Al Qaeda and Yemen took responsibility for an attack that turned out to be untrue.
The group making use of social media to recruit impressively. John Miller, Deputy Commissioner of the NYPD, is very concerned about their increasingly complex recruiting operation.
Miller said, "They are putting out products on video, on Twitter, on Instagram on Facebook but particularly their videos. They're constructing messaging that rivals the ability of Madison Avenue in terms of packaging, in terms of being compelling, in terms of touching emotions. "
The news is particularly troubling at a time when ISIS has sent out a video encouraging believers to find whatever weapons they can get their hands on at home and plan their own attacks on western targets.