“Al Qaeda #2” has got to be the toughest job - lots of turnover in that position, it seems.
Nope. This has been Bin Laden's right hand man since well before 9/11; he's a big deal. The number 3 spot, on the other hand, has had some turnover.
You're thinking of the #3s, the "operations commander" position -- there have been a whole bunch of those killed, starting with around 2 months after 9/11.
al-Zawahiri, otoh, has been in his #2 position continuously since his Egyptian Jihad was absorbed into Bin Laden's Al Qaeda back in the '90s. Some think al-Zawahiri has really been the largest driving force in Al Qaeda and that Bin Laden has long been more of a figurehead and propaganda tool. In any case, this is truly HUGE if true.
Yah, they all seem to be attending each others funerals every three weeks or so ... isn't that what the job of a #2 is ?
Oh well ... they probably don't get an open casket either .....
What "lots of turnover" in that position? Zawahiri's been the #2 in bin Laden's "Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders" since Feb 1998 when bin Laden issued the fatwa declaring war on the US with his signature and Zawahiri's on it.
Zawahiri is the head of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which is a founding member of Al Qaeda's Islamic Front, and is arguably a bigger kill than Osama would be. When he merged with bin Laden's group he brought some very dangerous "get r done" type operatives into the mix. It is his man, Mohammed Atta of the EIJ that led the 9/11 attacks.
Zawahiri took $300,000 from the regime of Saddam Hussein in 1998 after Zawahiri met with Iraqi intelligence and the Iraqi VP Taha Ramadan. Zawahiri's group EIJ was involved in the US Embassy bombings in Africa that year. He'd met with Iraqi intel in Iraq earlier in 1992 as well, in a meeting brokered by Tourabi, one of bin Laden's buddies from his days in exile in Sudan. Tourabi was the leader of Sudan's NIF group and he has been to Florida to speak at a conference sponsored by one of Sami al Arian's groups down here in FL.
You're confusing him with all the bin Laden "Lieutenants," the topmost of which are members of the organization's Shurra council which approve proposed attacks, etc. There is- or was a few of them. But there was only one #2.
This guy is a better catch than bin Laden himself.
Surprisingly, Air Traffic Controller is still #1 thanks to Ayman’s breathren. But AQ Leader #2 is the second “most stressful” due to the fact they all rapidly turn to worm #2.