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No. 2 al-Qaida leader Killed in Pakistan
Mark Mazetti | August 28, 2011

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watchingfrogsboil
6:43am Aug 29, 2011

Just how many "Number 2" leaders, "masterminds" and "key operatives" does the CIA ordained, trained and maintained Al Qaeda have, anyway? And how long will the Sheeple allow the Kleptocracy to "kill" the same bad guys over and over again? Google it: Same names, same faces, same manufactured terrorism. IMHO, this entire propaganda piece is just another steaming pile of "Number 2".

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Washington. A drone operated by the Central Intelligence Agency killed al-Qaida's second-ranking operative in the mountains of Pakistan this month, a US official said Saturday, further weakening a terrorism network shaken by the killing of Osama bin Laden this year.

The official said that a drone strike Aug. 22 killed Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, a Libyan who in the past year had taken over as al-Qaida's top operational planner. Rahman was in frequent contact with bin Laden in the months before the terrorist leader was killed in May by a Navy SEALs team, intelligence officials have said.

US officials described Rahman's death as particularly significant compared with those of other high-ranking al-Qaida operatives because he was one of a new generation of al-Qaida leaders who the network hoped would assume greater control after bin Laden's death.

Thousands of electronic files captured at bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, revealed that he communicated frequently with Rahman. They also showed that bin Laden relied on Rahman to get messages to other al-Qaida leaders and to ensure his recorded communications were broadcast to the wider world.

After bin Laden was killed, Rahman became al-Qaida's No. 2 figure under Ayman al-Zawahri, who is also believed to be in Pakistan.

There were few details Saturday about the strike that killed Rahman. In the months since bin Laden's death, the CIA has maintained a steady barrage of drone missile strikes on mountainous redoubts in Pakistan, a bombing campaign that continues to strain America's already turbulent relationship with Pakistan.

Even as al-Qaida affiliates in places like Yemen and North Africa continue to plot attacks against the West, most intelligence analysts believe that the remnants of al-Qaida's leadership in Pakistan have been weakened significantly. Rahman's death is another significant blow to the group.

''Atiyah was at the top of al-Qaida's trusted core," the US official said. "His combination of background, experience and abilities are unique in al-Qaida. Without question, they will not be easily replaced."

After bin Laden's death, some intelligence officials saw a cadre of Libyan operatives as poised to assume greater control in al-Qaida, an organization that at times has experienced friction among operatives of different nationalities.

Libyans like Rahman, they said, had long bristled at the leadership of an older al-Qaida generation, many of them Egyptian like Zawahri.
   
New York Times