23 years after its inception, today Al-Qaeda has two distinct options. The first one is to be a phoenix, to rise from its ashes. The second one, no doubt, is to surrender into anonymity.
Strenuously making an impact against the later, Al- Qaeda has selected a new leader, after the over hyped and demanded encounter of Osama bin Laden. An egyptian surgeon turned miliant Ayman al-Zawahiri is the new leader. He turns 60 this sunday.
Its indeed interesting how his name has suddenly become a hot debate in the international news. The US dismiss his appointment as ‘nowhere near to scary.’ Perhaps, they once again have forgotten that Al-Qaeda is not represented by one protagonist but the ideology behind it. Hence, the selection of a new successor or the interim governance leading it, hardly makes a different.
Secondly, Zawahiri has his own wounds to lick. His entire family, including a wife and two children, were destroyed in the December 2001 in US attack in his own residence in Afghanistann. Hence, there is no chance that he would not take a revenge out of it.
Thirdly, not many know that Zawahiri was the mastermind behind what Osama bin Laden did. One of them is the usage of suicide attackers inspite of Osama not being ready for using them. He called these suicide bombers as ‘marytrs of freedom’. A man who harbours this mindset should be scrtunised beyond what he speaks and what he avoids to speak.
Zawahiri’s journey’
During his initital days, Zawahiri was exposed to radical Islam through the teachings of Islamist Sayyid Qutb. In 1981, he was involved in the assasination of Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat. After being involved in mass arrests, he was released in 1984. Soon he fled to Pakistan and joined the Afghanistan Mujahideen. In 1986 he met Osama bin Laden and after two years, he played a pivotal role in the setting up of Al-Qaida in Pakistan. Known for his argumentative and out-spoken language, Zawahiri is considered to be 'less charismatic' than Osama bin Laden. 'Challenges infront of Zawahiri' Especially after several key documents being raided by the US special forces during the encounter of Osama bin Laden, the task of Zawahiri to once again maintain the secrecy of the group is quite difficult. He also needs to work on uniting the Al-Qaeda chambers in the Middle East and the Saudi. Evading the American pursuers would be another herculean task. Since he is not the founder of Al-Qaeda, it is believed that Zawahiri has the challenging task to establish the second tier relationship with the group. Also, the group is going through a financial crunch right now. The strategic policies towarda countries such as Yemen, Egypt and Libya also need to be changed. Inspite of the fact that Zawahiri still used to call the shots even during the time of Osama bin Laden, he needs to prove that Al-Qaeada still exists, especially as 2011 marks 'ten decades' to the September 2001 terror attacks. Though, age and seniority are at his side, the previous role of 'micr0-managing' al-Qaeda would demand a lot of immediate pursuits. He also needs to work on bringing together the cultural, sociological, geographic and ideological differences present in the militant group and unite them. What he does and does not, will be revealed only by time and technology.
shubhdachaudhary 