Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi detonated a suicide vest last week, according to US officials, as American special operators closed in on his position. He will not be missed. Al-Qurashi was directly and indirectly responsible for atrocities that included murder, rape, and torture. US President Joe Biden described him as a “horrible person.” There is at least some inherent good to be found in his death.

But his death is also irrelevant to the broader effort of deterring and defeating terrorist groups around the world. It has not dealt the Islamic State “a severe blow,” as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has claimed, because it is not the kind of organization that misses a step when its leader is removed. Like al-Qaeda, the Islamic State functions as an umbrella organization for many semi-independent regional and country-level organizations. Any top-level turmoil in the coming weeks will probably not affect Islamic State leaders and fighters in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Somalia, the Philippines, the Russian North Caucasus, and Nigeria. Their operations will almost certainly continue unabated…