CIA planning for al-Qaida "succession crisis"
WASHINGTON (AP) - May 27, 2008 The CIA is equally interested in those jockeying to replace bin
Laden in what he predicted will be a "succession crisis."
"It will be really interesting to see how that plays out. The
organization is a lot more networked than it is ruthlessly
hierarchical," Hayden said of the group behind the 9/11 attacks on
the U.S. "How do you pick the next overall leader?"
A number of Egyptians are now part of al-Qaida's top echelon and
may struggle for power among themselves. Bin Laden's current No. 2,
Ayman al-Zawahiri, is an Egyptian.
Despite al-Qaida's resilience, taking out bin Laden would be a
psychological blow to the organization, Hayden said.
"If there ever was a sense of invulnerability I think killing
or capturing him would shatter it once and for all," he said.
Bin Laden is believed to be hiding in the lawless tribal areas
of western Pakistan. The new Pakistani government is negotiating a
new peace agreement with the tribes that would have them expel
extremists and police the region on their own. Hayden said he
believes the result will be similar to the last agreement Pakistan
struck with the tribes - nothing is likely to change.
"Any peace agreement that does not move the effective writ of
the Pakistani government into the tribal region and push the rule
of law there gives these groups the opportunity to continue to
train, refit and move across the Afghan border. It's something we
certainly could not look kindly on," Hayden said in the telephone
interview.
The CIA has been using armed drones to attack alleged terrorists
inside the tribal area, as U.S. military forces are barred from
pursuing al-Qaida and Taliban fighters across the Afghan border.
Hayden would not say what else the CIA is doing, if anything, to
target terrorist enclaves there.
"It's hard for me to get into any details. I understand the
situation there and I'm comfortable with the authorities we've been
given," he said.
"There's an awful lot of senior leadership killed or captured
including even in the last several months," he said.
