Jesus M Elbinias
AS reported in international media from New York (AFP) recently, and printed in our local newspapers, Osama bin Laden will never be captured alive according to one of his bodyguards, Abu Jandal, who told the CBS news magazine that this old boss of his had given strict instruction on what should happen if he (Bin Laden) is cornered or is going to be captured and attacked without his bodyguards not being able to save him, Bin Laden would prefer to be killed with his special gun. Former bodyguard Jandal said he believed Bin Laden was hiding out in Afghanistan rather than Pakistan, and also warned that Laden’s most recent threats of terror strike on the United States should be taken seriously. Whether what Jandal revealed is true or not, he said that when Bin Laden promises something, he does it. If that’s so, US should prepare.
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Following the air bombing events of September 11, the US authorities were quick to pinpoint Bin Laden as the prime suspect. The reasons for the US’ suspicions are many and the evidence gathered during the ensuing investigation seems to support their theory. From researches, the US learned that Osama bin Laden is the son of a wealthy Saudi construction business owner and believed in Islamic Jihad and that Islamic places should not have presence of infidels. He helped the Afghans in their fight against the Russians with the aid of his organization called al Qaeda. He got support in money and kind from several countries and moved his base from Afghanistan to Sudan to Kenya as things became hot. His citizenship of Saudi Arabia was canceled by the government because of his activities. He was alleged to be responsible for September 11 attacks in the US.
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Lately, his location was said to be in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with US forces looking out for him. In the book "Terrorists & Terrorist Organizations," first published in 2004 by the Tiny Tot Publications, in Delhi, India, the writer wrote that many terrorism experts, including CNN’s Patrick Bergen, consider al Zawahiri more dangerous than Bin Laden, since al Zawahiri is sort of the brains of the operation. Also, he has the reputation of being both intellectually and ideologically superior to his partner in crime and, according to the New Yorker, al Zawahiri helped inspire the relatively recent formation of a terrorist group among the traditionally moderate kurds, who were among America’s few allies in the war against Iraq.
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Also, while analysts believe that Bin Laden has the following and provided a large percentage of the funds that went towards the emergence of al Qaeda, al Zawahiri is credited by the same experts as being the intellect and ideological driving force behind the organization. I was al Zawahiri, they argue, who successfully merged al Jihad with three other groups, including Bin Laden’s own forces, for the purpose of taking the fight inside the USA. Not only that. According to Dia’a Rashwan, an expert on Islamic militants, al Zawahiri has a great deal more experienced than Bin Laden and had been linked in some way to every Muslim group since the 1970s. Many terrorism experts now believe that if Bin Laden were to be captured or killed, it would be Zawahiri who would take over.
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At the writing and publication of that book, al Zawahiri is thought to be hiding in the mountainous border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the same area where Bin Laden is said to be. Let not one assassinate the other there.
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