The Obama administration has laid out a new national counterterrorism strategy, saying al-Qaida is severely weakened due to increased pressure on the organization.

The administration's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, made the comment Wednesday. He said the United States and its partners, including Pakistan and Yemen, have strangled al-Qaida's finances and decimated its leadership ranks, culminating in the killing of Osama bin Laden during a raid by U.S. special forces in Pakistan last month.

In a speech at The Johns Hopkins University, Brennan – a former CIA officer – also said the so-called Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East have undermined al-Qaida's ideology and its ability to attract new recruits. But he said terror organizations and nations that support them will likely seek to capitalize on the instability that change can sometimes bring.

Brennan introduced four core principles for U.S. counterterrorism efforts: adhering to American core values, building up resilience to recover from a successful attack, building counterterrorism partnerships with other nations, and using the proper tools and capabilities in attacking terrorists.