Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin LadenÂ’s deputy, has seized control of Al Qaeda and rebuilt the terror network into an organisation capable of launching complex terror attacks in Britain and America, the Sunday Telegraph reported on Sunday.Osama has not chaired an Al Qaeda meeting in two years: The weekly quoted intelligence officials as saying that bin Laden has not chaired a meeting of Al QaedaÂ’s ruling shura, or council, in more than two years. Instead, Zawahiri, bin LadenÂ’s nominal number two, is credited with rebuilding the terror network since the Afghan war in 2001.
Intelligence sources in Washington have revealed that Western spy chiefs were recently forced to revise dramatically their view that Al Qaeda was so depleted that it was little more than a cheerleader for extremists. Instead, British and American intelligence agencies believe that a network of terrorist cells, funded, controlled and supported by Al QaedaÂ’s central command, based in the lawless tribal areas of Pakistan, is in place again. ZawahiriÂ’s task has been made easier because not a single prominent Al Qaeda leader has been captured since March 2006, nearly 18 months ago.
Osama brandname, Zawahiri grand strategist: Bruce Hoffman, a member of the US Military Academy’s Combating Terrorism Centre, said, “Bin Laden is the brand name but al-Zawahiri is the grand strategist. He has taken control of Al Qaeda. Despite the new video [released this month], bin Laden has ceased to be a major force in decision-making and propaganda effort.”
A window on the changing outlook on Al Qaeda came in July when a US government National Intelligence Estimate concluded that the organisation had “regrouped”. Prof Hoffman said: “The idea that they were just a franchise for ideology was simply not true. While we were saying that Al Qaeda had been diminished and degraded, it was just wishful thinking.”
What forced the re-evaluation was the plot last August to blow up 10 aircraft en route from Britain to the US. “That sent shock waves through the intelligence agencies of both countries,” said Prof Hoffman. “It was incontrovertible evidence that Al Qaeda was back, and that it was prepared to go after hard targets.”
Zawahiri promoting new generation of leaders: A former British intelligence officer said that Al Qaeda under Zawahiri’s direction had promoted a new generation of leaders to the highest echelons of the shura, a group of about 20 to 30 leaders who govern operations, finance and religious fatwahs. “The guys on the subs’ bench are now in the first XI,” he said. “They have stopped using mobile phones to talk to each other, which has made it more difficult to find them.”
Zawahiri quadruples number of propaganda videos: The daily says that Zawahiri - who has quadrupled the number of videos produced each year to more than 60 - is credited with stepping up the propaganda effort. Adam Raisman, an analyst with the Search for International Terrorist Entities institute, which intercepts jihadi broadcasts, said: “The releases are getting more elaborate both in content and delivery. “The old grainy video has been replaced by high-definition, near DVD-quality video. They are now issuing them in formats for cell phones.” Michael Scheuer, the head of the CIA’s bin Laden unit between 1996 and 1999, warned that officials who “have concluded that there is no overt threat in bin Laden’s new message” may be making a dangerous miscalculation.