Al-Qaida in the midst of fierce succession battle

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

A fierce succession battle appears to be gripping the senior ranks of al-Qaida in the wake of the death of leader Osama bin Laden earlier this month, pitting regional affiliates against the central "hardcore" of the organisation.

Reports from Pakistan named an Egyptian former special forces officer known as Saif al-Adel as the acting leader of al-Qaida.

Al-Adel, who is in his late 40s, is a veteran militant who was close to bin Laden in the 1990s before being detained in Iran after fleeing Afghanistan following the ouster of the Taliban in 2001. According to Noman Benotman, a former Libyan militant now living in London, al-Adel was released from Iranian detention and returned to Pakistan last year.

The report in the Pakistani The News newspaper identified al-Adel as having been chosen as "interim leader" of al-Qaida after a meeting at "an undisclosed location". It also said that "none of sons of Osama Bin Laden has shown willingness" to take up a formal position within the organisation.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/18/al-qaida-succession-battle-saif-al-adel-acting-leader

[Robb]

1. Heh. K&R. nt

[dipsydoodle]

2. "appears" may be an overstatement

Succession battles are in not the nature of al-Qaida.

[Robb]

4. LOL no?

We'll see. :)

[dipsydoodle]

6. The subject has been gone into in depth

here in the UK. They differ because they are a purely ideological group composed a number of cells which form the base. There is no prestige as such in being the "leader"

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Maybe there's no prestige, but hey, the mansions

all the trappings of the executive lifestyle. The bedroom with hotplate, a cheesy television, internet cafe down the street.

Who wouldn't want the job?

:hi:

[dipsydoodle]

8. Sounds like

Nice work if you can get it .......and you can get it if you try.

:hi:

[EFerrari]

10. Nobody will ever lose money giving Americans some kind of cartoon super villian to hate.

lol

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

11. Fair exchange. We sent him some super-villains

[EFerrari]

9. They're not even mostly cells but very loosely knit independent orgs

with their own internal pecking orders.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. Republican Party in the midst of fierce succession battle

There are disagreements and discussions over who should lead the next presidential ticket. Eventually, this could escalate into a primary election.

None of the sons of George Herbert Walker Bush has shown willingness to compete for the position.

[bemildred]

5. Right.

:sarcasm:

[FLPanhandle]

12. I'm surprised a group of terrorists can't settle their differences in a calm rational manner.

:rofl: