Another misstep by the IC…..Zawahiri has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the same group that has brought you the “Arab Spring”, Washington's perception of a move toward democracy…..
Zawahiri's goal has always been to overtake AQ (hence the belief he was responsible for Azam's death) and make it a weapon of the Islamic Jihad. If true, and the Arab Spring is tied to the Brotherhood, then giving up UBL is another step of the ladder. He was no longer needed.
Al-Qaeda’s Zawahiri, Bigger Threat Than Osama?: Raymond Ibrahim
Now that Ayman Zawahiri has assumed leadership of al-Qaeda, it is important to end the widespread perception that he is a dour intellectual who is disconnected from young, would-be jihadists. The fact is, Zawahiri is a wily, dangerous and imposing leader who should be considered no less of a threat — and perhaps even more so — than his predecessor.
Phi Beta Iota: The US Government has been, by demand of the dictators it supported, cut off from all opposition groups in the Middle East and North Africa for decades. The U.S. Intelligence Community does not collect, process, nor have in-house analytic talent sufficient to comprehend the nuances of the situation, and in particular the general opposition to corruption, the secular nature of the connected youth, and the emergence of Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, and even Indonesia as “Papal Nuncio” equivalents in behind the scenes dialog. Instead, CIA-JSOG continue to target individuals while everyone ignores the larger reality: that the concentration of wealth has reached epic proportions, and the global revolution has begun…the people are a power no government can suppress, the unconquerable world is emergent.
