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Subscribe to RSSAyman al Zawahiri is by no means a shoo-in as al Qaeda's next leader. He is not liked by many in the organization, and he faces competition from at least two others, one of them an American, a senior U.S. official tells NBC News.
In addition to having a face for radio, and not at all charismatic, he is not nearly as popular as bin Laden internally. He has a reputation as being arrogant," said the official. "We could see Anwar al-Awlaki move in, or Ilyas Kashmiri, a Pakistani militant.
Al-Awlaki, 40, is the New Mexico-born American leader of al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, who had contact with both Abdul Muttallab, the underwear bomber, and Col. Nidal Hassan, who killed 15 people at Ft. Hood two years ago...as well as two of the 9-11 bombers while preaching in San Diego. Al Awlaki is viewed as the most charismatic official in al Qaeda today and regularly used social media, including Facebook and a blog, to recruit members to the cause.
Less well known is Ilyas Kashmiri, 46, who is a leader in the Pakistani terrorist organization Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, which is closely tied to Al-Qaeda. Kashmiri rebuilt its strength while collaborating with the Taliban. He is under indictment in the US for his role in the planned attacks on the Danish cartoonist who drew the Prophet Mohammed.
"They have a lot to sort out, said the official and it will be difficult for them to convene a meeting," said the official.
Computers could reveal al Qaeda money men
A senior U.S. official also says the initial exploitation of the computers and other digital devices retrieved from the bin Laden compound have proven that the materials "contain very valuable information."
The official, asked if there was donor information on the computers, hard drives, etc., would not deny it adding it was "entirely possible." The U.S. has long sought lists of donors to the al Qaeda cause, those private individuals in the Gulf states who have financed operations.
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An American to head Al Qaeda? Well, nice headlines to promote Anwar Awlaki, who is believed to be a CIA agent running a "Roach Motel" in Yemen to trap aspiring jihadists for the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. There are anti-Saudi rebels in Yemen, and the Saudi air force has bombed them repeatedly. If Awlaki was really Al Qaeda, he would have joined them in a common cause. But he hasn't because if he did, he would have probably been tortured and shot as a foreign agent. And that is after about 5 years of a U.S. campaign promoting him as a top Al Qaeda jihadist, as well as the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, he has managed to snare and shipped to the U.S. only 2 idiots who were clueless about jihad. Awlaki is believed to live in Saudi Arabia for protection, and trying to lure potential jihadist into a U.S. trap through paid intermediaries in Yemen, and the Yemeni Intelligence Service.
Al Qaeda doesn't have a Board of Directors to elect a leader by vote. Real Al Qaeda leaders have a standing in the mission of Al Qaeda, and they have proven themselves in battles. Al Zawahiri is the "de-facto" supreme leader of Al Qaeda after bin Laden's death, but his position is more spiritual than strategic. Al Qaeda is now any jihadist group that share Al Qaeda's ideals, but is not controlled by a "central Al Qaeda authority." Those groups are closed knit to avoid infiltration, and that is why many American and British young Muslims who traveled to Pakistan and tried to join Al Qaeda were turned away. A "Frontline" documentary shown on PBS on May 3, 2011, showed how an Al Qaeda affiliated group in Afghanistan caught a man suspected on spying, and shot him dead after interrogating him! I have no doubt that if Awlaki was really in Yemen, and have been caught and interrogated by Al Qaeda affiliated rebels, he would have met the same fate! Anwar Awlaki as the top next Al Qaeda leader? Well, he is actually hiding from real Al Qeada groups! Nikos Retsos, retired professor