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aged the terror network's spread into more countries today than it was operating in immediately after 9/11.
• President Barack Obama, who ordered the May 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, has described al-Qaida's headquarters as "a shadow of its former self." White House spokesman Jay Carney on Tuesday called it "severely diminished" and "decimated."
• The bravado, however, didn't match the Obama administration's action this week. It closed 19 U.S. diplomatic outposts stretching across the Eastern Hemisphere and evacuated nonessential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Yemen after intelligence officials said they had intercepted a recent message from al-Qaida's top leader about plans for a major terror attack.
• The new communique came from bin Laden's replacement, Ayman al-Zawahri, who as early as December 2001 announced plans to decentralize the network and scatter its affiliates across the globe as a way of ensuring its survival.
• Now, major al-Qaida hubs are thriving along the Iraqi-Syrian border, in North Africa and, in the most serious risk to the U.S., in Yemen.
• ___

• NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- A massive fire destroyed the arrivals hall at Kenya's main international airport early Wednesday, forcing the closure of East Africa's largest airport and the rerouting of all inbound flights.
• No injuries were reported, said Michael Kamau, the cabinet secretary for transport and infrastructure.
• The fire broke out on the 15th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy bombings in Nairobi and neighboring Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but there were no immediate signs of terrorism. Kenya's anti-terror police boss, Boniface Mwaniki, told The Associated Press that he was waiting for the fire to be put out so that he could inspect the scene before making a judgment.
• Dark black smoke that shot skyward was visible across much of Nairobi as emergency teams battled the blaze. Passengers reported a slow response by the under-resourced fire brigade, and the blaze raged for four hours before being contained.
• "It was huge, the smoke billowing, and it didn't seem to be stopping," said Barry Fisher, who had hoped to fly to Ethiopia on Wednesday morning.
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