The Pentagon's top lawyer says the war on terror is not an endless conflict and the US is approaching a "tipping point" after which the military fight against al-Qaeda will be replaced by a law enforcement operation.
Jeh Johnson told an audience at Oxford University that the core of al-Qaeda is "degraded, disorganized and on the run," according to a transcript of Friday's speech. Johnson, general counsel to the US Defense Department, says that once most al-Qaida members are captured or killed, armed conflict will be replaced by "a counterterrorism effort against individuals" led by law enforcement and intelligence agencies. (AP)