Al-Qaeda has settled on a new leader who was a long time friend and ally of Osama bin Laden. Ayman al-Zawahri comes from an Egyptian family which is very well known and has an extensive background. We will have to see which direction that Mr. Zawahri wants to take the terror organization. We know that bin Laden was thinking of changing the name of the organization because they had a reputation for killing innocent citizens. They are certainly at a crossroads and now is the prime time to institute changes in the structure and operational guidelines of the organization.
Mr. Zawahri currently resides in Iraq or Pakistan to the best of my knowledge. The US has been searching for him for a while as it has other prominent al-Qaeda leaders. Now that he is the number one he will certainly have to remain well hidden. I believe that the efforts of the US to find and eliminate him will intensify now that he has taken charge of the organization.
He made his bid for leadership of al-Qaeda immediately after the demise of Osama bin Laden but was not initially elected as the organizations leader. Something had to happen because he was announced as the new leader after another prominent figure had been announced.
Personally I believe that he will be as ruthless or even more so than Mr. bin Laden. He was a strong advocate of suicide bombings and espouses hard core rhetoric when it comes to enforcing al-Qaedas policies.
His personality is definitely not the same as Mr. bin Ladens and I dont think that he has the same charismatic appeal. He will have to be careful about how he takes control of the organization because al-Qaeda may have to take some time to adjust to his leadership.
He believes that he can resurrect the momentum that al-Qaeda once had in the world but I am not sure. Al-Qaeda has taken too many devastating blows at the hands of the US and we have not even begun to realize the benefits of the vast amount of intelligence that we got from the bin Laden hideout. If he is to resurrect the organization his work is certainly cut out for him.
One indicator of how things are going for them is the fact that they are now kidnapping children to use as suicide bombers. This is a prime indicator that morale is at an all time low. There also is no way that this kind of action can help their public image.
Al-Zawahri is a natural militant as characterized by the fact that he formed a militant organization at age fifteen to oppose the Egyptian government. He came to know Mr. bin Laden during the conflict between the Afghans and Russia. He will always find some kind of cause to fight for so he wont go away no matter how tough things get for al-Qaeda.
In 2001 he set down the long-term strategy for the jihadi movement which is to inflict "as many casualties as possible" on the Americans."Pursuing the Americans and Jews is not an impossible task," he wrote. "Killing them is not impossible, whether by a bullet, a knife stab, a bomb or a strike with an iron bar."
The CIA came close to capturing him in 2003 and killing him in 2004 both times in Pakistan. In December 2009, they thought they were again close only to be tricked by a double agent who blew himself up, killing seven agency employees and wounding six more in Khost, Afghanistan.
The best strategy for the US right now is to continue to inflict as much pressure as possible on al-Qaeda and to keep the pressure on so that they wont be able to recover. Military Ring Express
Mr. Zawahri currently resides in Iraq or Pakistan to the best of my knowledge. The US has been searching for him for a while as it has other prominent al-Qaeda leaders. Now that he is the number one he will certainly have to remain well hidden. I believe that the efforts of the US to find and eliminate him will intensify now that he has taken charge of the organization.
He made his bid for leadership of al-Qaeda immediately after the demise of Osama bin Laden but was not initially elected as the organizations leader. Something had to happen because he was announced as the new leader after another prominent figure had been announced.
Personally I believe that he will be as ruthless or even more so than Mr. bin Laden. He was a strong advocate of suicide bombings and espouses hard core rhetoric when it comes to enforcing al-Qaedas policies.
His personality is definitely not the same as Mr. bin Ladens and I dont think that he has the same charismatic appeal. He will have to be careful about how he takes control of the organization because al-Qaeda may have to take some time to adjust to his leadership.
He believes that he can resurrect the momentum that al-Qaeda once had in the world but I am not sure. Al-Qaeda has taken too many devastating blows at the hands of the US and we have not even begun to realize the benefits of the vast amount of intelligence that we got from the bin Laden hideout. If he is to resurrect the organization his work is certainly cut out for him.
One indicator of how things are going for them is the fact that they are now kidnapping children to use as suicide bombers. This is a prime indicator that morale is at an all time low. There also is no way that this kind of action can help their public image.
Al-Zawahri is a natural militant as characterized by the fact that he formed a militant organization at age fifteen to oppose the Egyptian government. He came to know Mr. bin Laden during the conflict between the Afghans and Russia. He will always find some kind of cause to fight for so he wont go away no matter how tough things get for al-Qaeda.
In 2001 he set down the long-term strategy for the jihadi movement which is to inflict "as many casualties as possible" on the Americans."Pursuing the Americans and Jews is not an impossible task," he wrote. "Killing them is not impossible, whether by a bullet, a knife stab, a bomb or a strike with an iron bar."
The CIA came close to capturing him in 2003 and killing him in 2004 both times in Pakistan. In December 2009, they thought they were again close only to be tricked by a double agent who blew himself up, killing seven agency employees and wounding six more in Khost, Afghanistan.
The best strategy for the US right now is to continue to inflict as much pressure as possible on al-Qaeda and to keep the pressure on so that they wont be able to recover. Military Ring Express
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