Free Republic

PARIS — The death of Osama bin Laden last year severely damaged Al-Qaeda’s finances and left the shadowy network struggling to survive in the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan, analysts say. Deprived of its historic leader, whose legendary name drew in generous contributions from rich families in the Gulf, Al-Qaeda’s money troubles have forced it to scale down its activities, they said. “When Osama was alive, Al-Qaeda had more money,” said a senior security official in in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar.... Zawahiri has neither the stature, the influence nor the networks to collect funds from Gulf donors and...

DUBAI - Taunting President Bush during the videotaped killing of a sobbing, blindfolded U.S. hostage, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi boasted that the al-Qaida fighters he commanded “love death just like you love life.” “Killing for the sake of God is their best wish,” the insurgent leader said, drawing a knife to hack off the head of his kneeling victim. “Getting to your soldiers and allies are their happiest moments, and cutting the heads of the criminal infidels is implementing the orders of our Lord.” By the time he was killed Wednesday in a U.S. airstrike, al-Zarqawi was more powerful as a...