I'd argue that wherever there is an effective government (as is the case in Yemen), al Qaeda should be treated as a intelligence plus law-and-order problem.
The comments are uniformly depressing. One, omooex, did say what I did when I quit writing on that forum:
Glenn, the disagreement
Its in the reality that merely stopping our wars in those countries won't stop the terrorism. Wars have only exacerbated the problem, but its one that stems from US economic, cultural and political hegemony in the Islamic world. Certainly, stopping our wars is a really good idea, and that should be our first step. But I don't think it would stop the violence.