AL-QAEDA HAS NAMED A NEW LEADER

As the new leader of al-Qaeda, Zawahiri will face intense pressure to launch a major strike to avenge bin Laden’s death. But Huthaifa Azzam, citing personal recollections and contacts with al-Qaeda associations, said he doubted that Zawahiri could command a network of operatives required for a complex operation.


Building a brand
Al-Qaeda has become a different organization than it was on Sept. 11, 2001. With growing affiliates in Yemen, Somalia and North Africa, it is more diffuse in its reach and in its mission. Experts say the network can’t be controlled by a single leader on a day-to-day basis, and perhaps not even in a long-term sense.
“What has happened is that al-Qaeda has become more of a brand name in fomenting terrorism,” said David Livingstone, an associate fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.
Whether Zawahiri can effectively build up his own brand is one of many open questions. With U.S. officials now in possession of the intelligence haul from bin Laden’s compound, Zawahiri might be leery of communicating with his followers. And the courier system might not be the best way to reach them.
“Would Zawahiri be using the same methodology when it has been shown to have failed?” Livingstone said. “He’s got to be able to communicate somehow.”


Sheridan reported from Cairo. Staff writers Peter Finn, Greg Miller and Jason Ukman and staff researcher Julie Tate in Washington and special correspondent Ranya Kadri in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report. more...