US: We’ll hunt & kill Zawahiri too
The United States on Thursday dismissed new Al Qaeda supremo Ayman al-Zawahiri as a pale imitation of Osama bin Laden and warned the Egyptian to expect a fate similar to that of his slain predecessor.
US officials painted the 59-year-old long-time Al Qaeda No. 2 as an “armchair general” with no combat experience, saying he not only lacked charisma and leadership skills but was also a divisive figure who could fracture Al Qaeda.
Top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen told Zawahiri to expect the same treatment meted out to Bin Laden, who was killed by US commandos in the dead of night in a May 2 raid on his hideout in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. “As we did both seek to capture and kill — and succeed in killing — Bin Laden, we certainly will do the same thing with Zawahiri,” said Adm. Mullen, who is chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff.
US defence secretary Robert Gates, giving his valedictory press briefing at the Pentagon, could barely disguise his scorn, but warned that the announcement should serve as a reminder of the continuing Al Qaeda threat.
“First of all I think we should be mindful that this announcement by Al Qaeda reminds us that despite having suffered a huge loss... Al-Qaeda seeks to perpetuate itself, seeks to find replacements for those who have been killed, and remains committed to the agenda that Bin Laden put before them.” But Mr Gates, who joked that it was “probably tough to count votes when you’re in a cave”, said Zawahiri faced “some challenges”.
“Bin Laden had been the leader of Al Qaeda essentially since its inception,” he said. “In that particular context he had a peculiar charisma that I think Zawahiri does not have. I think he was much more operationally engaged than we have the sense Zawahiri has been.” —AFP
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