Al Qaeda Picks Egyptian al-Zawahri as its New Leader
- Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:03am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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CAIRO (AP) — Al-Qaida’s longtime No. 2 leader, a doctor from a prominent Egyptian family who worked with Osama bin Laden for decades, has succeeded the slain terrorist as head of the global network, the group said Thursday.
Ayman al-Zawahri, who turns 60 on Sunday, has long brought ideological fire, tactics and organizational skills to al-Qaida. The surgeon by training was first behind the use of the suicide bombings and independent terror cells that have become the network’s trademarks.
He is believed to be living somewhere near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and has appeared in dozens of videos and audiotapes in recent years, increasingly becoming the face of al-Qaida as bin Laden kept a lower profile.
Al-Zawahri had been considered the most likely successor because of his long-time collaboration with bin Laden, and analysts had said that few were likely to challenge the al-Qaida deputy leader for the top spot.
He and bin Laden first crossed paths in the late 1980s in the caves of Afghanistan, where al-Zawahri reportedly provided medical treatment to bin Laden and other Islamic fighters battling Soviet forces. Their alliance would develop years later into the terror network blamed for America’s worst terror attack in its history.
However, U.S. intelligence officials have said that some al-Qaida members find al-Zawahri to be a controlling micromanager who lacks bin Laden’s appeal. And al-Zawahri also faces significant challenges in promoting al-Qaida’s agenda following uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa – movements that were driven by a desire for democracy rather than a religious state.
In a videotaped eulogy released earlier this month, al-Zawahri warned that America still faces an international community of Muslims that seek to destroy it.
“Today, praise God, America is not facing an individual, a group or a faction,” he said, wearing a white robe and turban with an assault rifle leaned on a wall behind him. “It is facing a nation that is in revolt, having risen from its lethargy to a renaissance of jihad.”
Al-Zawahri also heaped praise on bin Laden, who was killed in a May 2 raid by U.S. Navy SEALs in Pakistan, and criticized the U.S. for burying him at sea.
“He went to his God as a martyr, the man who terrified America while alive and terrifies it in death, so much so that they trembled at the idea of his having tomb,” he said.
Al-Qaida gave no details about the selection process for bin Laden’s successor but said that it was the best tribute to the memory of its “martyrs.”
Al-Zawahri is the son of an upper middle class Egyptian family of doctors and scholars. His father was a pharmacology professor at Cairo University’s medical school and his grandfather was the grand imam of Al-Azhar University, a premier center of religious study.
At the age of 15, he founded his first underground cell of high school students to oppose the Egyptian government. He continued his militant activities while earning his medical degree, later merging his cell with other militants to form Islamic Jihad.
Al-Zawahri served three years in an Egyptian prison before heading to Afghanistan in 1984 to fight the Soviets, where he linked up with bin Laden. Al-Zawahri later followed bin Laden to Sudan and then back to Afghanistan, where they found a safe haven under the radical Taliban regime.
Soon after came the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Africa, followed by the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen, an attack al-Zawahri is believed to have helped organize.
In a 2001 treatise, he set down the long-term strategy for the jihadi movement – 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.”
Al-Zawahri’s hatred for Americans has also become deeply personal: His wife and at least two of their six children were killed in a U.S. airstrike following the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after the 9-11 attacks.
Al-Zawahri has worked in the years since to rebuild the organization’s leadership in the Afghan-Pakistan border. Al-Qaida has inspired or had a direct hand in attacks in North Africa, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan, the 2004 train bombings in Madrid and the 2005 transit bombings in London.
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 statement announcing his succession was filled with the terror network’s usual rhetoric, vowing to continue the fight against what it called “conquering infidels, led by America and its stooge Israel, who attack the homes of Islam.”
The al-Qaida statement also stated the group‘s support for this year’s popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria and Libya.
“We encourage the people of Islam to rise up and continue the struggle, persistence and devotion until all the corrupt and oppressive regimes imposed by the West are gone,” it said.
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Comments (137)
LIBSALWAYSLIE
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:31amI guess its not PC to say put him in the crosshairs? Oh well, I said it.
Report Post »Bowmaster
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:30amCool…. the forehead pre marked as a target?
Report Post »Talk about “user friendly”!
jnobfan
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:30amI heard that he has been sexting pictures of himself screwing a camel to Russian porn stars. Barney Frank was copied and has no comment. Charlie Rangel says “whats the big deal”
Report Post »ferdbyrd
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:29amNext?……..
Report Post »big woop
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:27amKILL HIM! the sooner the better .
Report Post »Silat
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:27amHe is now the leader of the Muslim Circle Jerk!
Report Post »heavywx
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:23amHey, I bet a .308 round will fit perfectly in that thing on his forehead.
Report Post »bts61240
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:21amhe already has a target on his forehead what’s the problem.?
Report Post »Now he needs a tatto: an arrow pointing to his scar and a note which say place bullet(s) here!
christos
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:19am……Don’t they have showers over there,what is that the mark of the beast emerging out of his forehead,wait till they bow to +MAJESTIC KING JESUS+ who is +DIVINELY BEAUTIFUL+ the +HOLY SPIRIT+ is know where near this guy,everyone makes a personal choice,they who have pierced & rejected +JESUS+
Report Post »Ranthony80
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:18amThey Picked the guy with the Penis Growing out of his forhead. He had it removed I see.
Report Post »LRC
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:16amis it me, or does he have a bullseye on his forehead?
Report Post »rappini
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:14amI think the SEAL’S will have it a tad easier this time now they have a target, that thingy on his forehead.
Report Post »screamineagle
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:12amWhat’s That on his forehead????? The number “666”! Wow,,, Seal Team Six will have no problem with that forehead…. hey , I bet the last thing on Osama’s mind was,,,,,,,,,,,,, a bullet,,, hey ******,,,, INCOMING,,,, what’s that going around ,,,, way up there,,,, just going around in circles????? a what,,, A WHAT?????? What is a Global Hawk? Oh,,,, OH,,,,, RUN…..
Report Post »TMACK
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:29amThat thing on his forehead is a TARGET.
Report Post »This Is Sparta
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:09amHey all ! first time poster,just for f.y.i. that is not a mole on his forhead…..its a rub mark from praying,just as well a aim point just the same………LOl
Report Post »vennoye
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:33amWell Hello, welcome to Blaze. Walid Shoebat says, “Always look for a clean shaved Muslim with the prayer bump or prayer scar, (also known as a zabiba/zebiba/zebibah (“raisin” in Arabic), is a mark on the forehead of a Muslim, apparently due to the friction generated from the contact of the forehead with the prayer mat. Islam generally requires its adherents to pray five times a day (known as salah), which involves kneeling on a prayer mat and touching the ground with one’s forehead.) on their forehead…because the only time they can be clean shaved is when they are engaging in jihad!
Report Post »Charlie Justice
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:08amHe looks like a pot smoking porn watching psycho child molester. Did I miss any facts on bin laden?
Report Post »warner
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:02amNail him! He’s already got the target on his forehead…aim and shoot, boys!
Report Post »GENEPAGLIARI
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:58amDid they have an election? How, exactly, did al qaeda decide on Zawahiri? Was it with the secret union ballot or the secret ballot bag of ballots from on high? Were these ballots union made and union printed? Who else was on the ballot? Was there smoke? and was it white? Where were the voting stations? ? ? ? ?
Report Post »51bmustang
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:46amHe has most likely already been tagged. It is just a matter of time before he is deliverred
Report Post »Leadthemtothelight
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:56amDid you see his forehead? he’s been tagged alright by Allah himself…..lol
Report Post »melmatmic
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 10:22amIs that what the mark of the beast looks like?
Report Post »MaggieRose
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:44amGood! I imagine there’s a certain SEAL team getting itchy trigger fingers right about now… and that is a heck of a target right in the middle of his forehead.
Report Post »kestrel27
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:27amSo how long before this twit, Zawahiri ends up assuming room temperature and gets his 72 virgin goats? It‘s reasonably obvious Zawahiri hasn’t the brains to figure out, that becoming the so called “Leader” of al qaeda is the “Kiss of death”. No, he won’t be strapping a bomb belt on, that’s for the other camel humpers, but he’ll end up with a lead headache just the same. Give it some time.
Report Post »MaggieRose
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:47amLOL… lead headache…
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:25am.
Report Post »I betcha I can hit that mole on his forehead at 1500 meters with a crosswind…….
NOTAMUSHROOM
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:45amLooks like half a cross to me. Have you seen Inglorious Basterds? Aldo should finish the mark.
Report Post »Bill in Texas
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 11:37amI was just thinking, is that a target on his forehead or what? lol
Report Post »AG47GAMERNUT
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:20amAmerican Democracy Glenn Beck v Thomas Paine
https://picasaweb.google.com/AG47GAMERNUT/AMERICANDEMOCRACYGLENNBECKVTHOMASPAINE
Report Post »AG47GAMERNUT
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:17amThe Terrorists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStJ5BgadPs
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:13am.
Report Post »I’d like to stump break about a dozen camels with this guy hehehehe…..
Swamp B Gummer
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:03amHe looks like a goat kicked him in the middle of his forehead.
Report Post »starman70
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:26am@ SWAMP B GUMMER:
That is what the Seal team will aim for. Someone already drew a target on his foreheade.
Report Post »pscully17
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:08amIm very confident that announcing by NAME and location, who your new terrorist leader is, is the geraldo Rivera Moment of Al quedas demise.
Report Post »Aaron in Polk County
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:14amAyman Al-Zawahri is the Dick Cheney of Al Qaida. Low charisma, but smart as hell.
A.D.H.D. moment, anyone with A-men as a first name can’t be all bad.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:15am.
Report Post »Can you say Watery Grave…………….
GETLIFE
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:28amAt least we are no longer proclaiming that al Qaida is just a bunch of loosely organized but separate terrorist groups.
Report Post »GETLIFE
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:34amSpeaking of watery graves–remains of victims of that Air France (Rio- Paris) crash were found at the bottom of the Atlantic….
Where there‘s a will there’s a way.
Report Post »Thatsitivehadenough
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:45am“Al Qaeda picks”? How? Did they vote?
Report Post »Ironmaan
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:00amWont be long now. Ayman will be dead within 6 months. NEXT!!
Report Post »http://guerillatics.com
joe3
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:18amhes the supreme leader of the libyan rebels. whats his plan to get gadaffi? and what type of power structure will the libyan society live under?? i have a good guess………
Report Post »lovenfl3
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:27amThese people are never going to back down from their real mission. The Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaida are turning this world upside down, yet the liberal media is only concerned about not hurting their feelings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcRU63qCJkw This video shows the media in action after Glenn reported on these radicals.
Report Post »Miami
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:37amSleep with one eye open, you’re next on the target list and I see crosshairs in your future
Report Post »The_Hut_In_Co
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:42amSend in Herendo Revolver to get the story! Maybe the Seals can do a two-fer!
Report Post »NOTAMUSHROOM
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:47am“and criticized the U.S. for burying him at sea.”
Boo hoo. Bin Laden sleeps with the fishes. You’re next, Satan.
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:59amSeal Team 6 just got their new orders….
@ – Thatsitivehadenough = “Al Qaeda picks”? How? Did they vote?”
Wondered that same thing myself… Absentee Ballot? Worldwide teleconference (all those in favor say “aye”)? Facebook “quiz”?
Report Post »starman70
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:22amHO – HUM, Just more target practice for the Seals.
Report Post »dave928
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:24amNext!
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:30amThis is hilarious garbagec.
So…how long has THIS one been dead…
Well, at least the CIA doesn‘t think we’re dumb enough to believe the rididulous garbage that the Jewish Adam Gadahn (Adam Pearlman) is running AL-CIA-Duh.
At least they changed their garbage propaganda about Al Awlaki. I wonder how many times Zawahiri visited the Pentagon?
Didi these LIARS at the CIA try to convince us that Zawahirir was running Al Qaeda YEARS ago?
Like , before Osama Bin LAden was RESURRECTED and “killed” again?
How many times has Bin Laden died? 4-5 times already?
We’ll have another Bin Laden death next year… Another CIA lackey will appear to take these CIA lackey’s place…
This is never going to end. Perpetual war based on false flag, CIA perpetrated terror.
Report Post »TexasCommonSense
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:33amal-Zawahri, we have a couple of 5.56mm for you, too.
Report Post »UMMAH GUMMAH
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:42am.
So that’s what they call a head cutter now: A “trained surgeon”.
Gotta be kidding me.
.
Report Post »UMMAH GUMMAH
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:44am“And al-Zawahri also faces significant challenges in promoting al-Qaida’s agenda following uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa – movements that were driven by a desire for democracy rather than a religious state.”
–
Did Obama write this?
.
Report Post »Evileye
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:55amIf the Lord Obumbler would talk nice to gentleman he would probably lay down his AK -47
Report Post »And go back to cutting out the Clitoris of 12 year old Muslim girl.
minnierv
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 10:11amThis guy ought to be easy to kill, he comes with a built in target in the middle of his forehead. Might as well have a tattoo saying, PLACE BULLET HERE!
Report Post »siebegorman
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 10:24amBANG!!!
Report Post »Love, Seal Team Six
Sinista MACE
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 10:37amHow does “clitoris” make it past the censors, but g-o-n-a-d-s doesn’t, f-e-l-l-a-t-i-o doesn’t…
I‘m starting to think there’s some liberal women moderating this site.
OH YEA…they did let the Puffington Boast editors take over…
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 10:42amAl-Qaeda…..The fabrication that keeps giving.
Report Post »DieBambi
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 5:29pmlook, he already has a bullseye on his forehead
Report Post »DisillusionedDaily
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 5:44pmI noticed that he has a target on his forehead. That ought to make it easy for the SEALS.
Report Post »BuckOfama
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:06pmIs that thing on his forehead a target???
Report Post »avenger
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:51pmyo dude…need GPS co ordinates….
Report Post »gunslingr45
Posted on June 17, 2011 at 9:59amyes he is
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