American Greatness: The death of al-Qaeda’s longtime leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, proves how dangerous it is to lead the world’s most notorious Islamist terrorist organization. Given the group’s international reach and the fact that it has survived nearly 30 years of conflict with America’s war machine, many observers have been surprised by the fact that al-Qaeda did not have a succession plan in place. This is especially odd considering how many of al-Qaeda’s top leaders have either been captured by U.S. and allied forces or killed in a variety of colorful ways by the U.S. military (including both Zawahiri’s predecessor, Osama Bin Laden).
To observe the way the Biden Administration celebrated Zawahiri’s explosive death in Taliban-controlled Kabul, one could be forgiven for believing this meant the threat from al-Qaeda is over. Not true. In fact, the threat is evolving—as it did in the aftermath of the killing of Bin Laden in 2011.
And while no actual succession plan was in place for the infamous terrorist group, there are at least two men who appear to be the likeliest figures to assume power. One is longtime al-Qaeda leader, Egyptian-born Saif al-Adel and the other is Abd al-Rahman al-Maghribi. The former was an old comrade of Zawahiri, and the latter is Zawahiri’s son-in-law. Both men, however, have lived in Iran for years.
The fact that these two men have resided in Iran for as long as they have indicates they’re doing more than just taking refuge from American bombs: they’re likely under the protection of Iranian intelligence. Some might even say the two men are under house arrest. This is an especially dangerous condition. Tehran has already proven its ability to bring some of the world’s largest and deadliest terrorist organizations under its bloody spell. Many know about Iran’s long-standing relationship with the Lebanon-based Shiite Muslim terror group, Hezbollah. more here
OK, the CIA got ’em this last time, so…Mossad, batter up!