US-Pakistan Relations and New Al-Qaida Leader, Al-Zawahiri
Al-Qaida’s long-time second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri has been named the new leader of Al-Qaida, according to a statement released via several jihadist websites. The nearly 60-year-old al-Zawahiri had been Osama Bin Laden’s deputy for more than a decade.Christine Fair, assistant professor at Georgetown’s Center for Peace and Security Studies says that al-Zawahiri lacks the charisma of Osama bin Laden; and that capturing him will likely be complicated by poor relations between the U.S. and Pakistan. Currently, Pakistani authorities are not allowing CIA officers into the country, despite promises to form a new joint intelligence-sharing team.
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