ISLAMABAD: PakistanÂ’s military paints a different picture than the United States of Osama bin LadenÂ’s final days: far from the terror mastermind still trying to strike America, heÂ’s seen as an aging terrorist hiding in barren rooms, short of money and struggling to maintain his grip on al Qaeda.
But the CIA is saying he was in touch with key members of al Qaeda, playing a strong role in planning and directing attacks by al Qaeda and its affiliates in Yemen and Somalia, senior US officials said Friday, citing documents found during the Monday morning raid in which bin Laden was killed.
Disputes over money between bin Laden and his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, led the group to split into two factions five or six years ago, with the larger faction controlled by al-Zawahri, according to two senior Pakistani military officials. Bin Laden was ”cash strapped” in his final days, they said.
The image coming out of Washington based on information seized from bin Laden’s compound was far different. It shows that bin Laden was a lot more involved in directing al Qaeda personnel and operations than sometimes thought over the last decade, officials said. And it suggests bin Laden was ”giving strategic direction” to al Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, one defense official said.
A weak bin Laden would make PakistanÂ’s failure to unearth his hiding place in Abbottabad, a military town just two-and-a-half hoursÂ’ drive from the capital, seem less of a glaring embarrassment, while a menacing bin Laden would make the US Navy SEAL raid that killed him a greater triumph. |