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Al-Qaeda ( القاعدة, al-qāʿidah)- FBI Co*k it Up - Again- Wrong PHOTO
Yasser el-Siri, founder of the Islamic Marsad Center in London - a research center for Islamic and jihadist affairs - said he met Makkawi in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca between 1989 and 1990.
He also offered some key differences in the men's lives.
Al-Adel was born in the 1960s, is tall, comes from the Nile Delta and married the daughter of a well-known Egyptian journalist-turned-jihadist, Abouel Walid, who was editor-in-chief of The Islamic Emirate magazine, an extremist publication, el-Siri said. The editor was one of an early generation of jihadists who fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Western intelligence officials believe al-Adel is living in Iran but travels frequently to Pakistan and Afghanistan. He was a reservist in the Egyptian army.
Makkawi, who was born in the 1950s, also comes from the Nile Delta but had a Saudi father and Egyptian mother. He graduated from military college in 1972, became a lieutenant and then joined the special forces. He is reportedly short compared al-Adel.
Makkawi joined jihadist groups in Afghanistan but then criticized them for their poor tactics and planning, describing their battles as "the war of the goats."
It is unclear when al-Adel formally joined al-Qaida or an affiliate, but he is thought to be one of the group's most experienced military strategists. Prior to the U.S. Embassy bombings, he allegedly had a hand in operations against U.S. forces who entered Somalia in 1993 in an attempt to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and some of his top lieutenants. In the end, 18 U.S. troops died in the operation.
On the surface, the truth is still unclear.
The shadowy world of intelligence has long been built on knowns and unknowns, truths and half-truths and spider webs of good, bad and old information that can take years before it is investigated, if at all. New leads often eclipse old information even as that old data lives on.
"Intelligence is a business like anything else," Bob Ayers, a former U.S. intelligence officer, told the AP.
"When the Sept. 11 terror attacks hit, the intelligence community wasn't prepared. It scurried around and it tried to make do. Old leads should and could be followed up if there were enough resources, but it's unlikely you're going to shut your best analysts in a dark room for months just so they can investigate information that is sometimes 10 years old."
Richard Barrett, a U.N. representative responsible for monitoring al-Qaida and the Taliban, also confirmed to the AP that the FBI mistakenly identified al-Adel as Makkawi and - importantly - neglected to say on his profile that al-Adel's real name, according to people in the intelligence community, is thought to be Mohammed Salah Zidan.
"We have no information that Makkawi is one of the aliases that Saif is using, so it's a question-mark why that name is on the FBI list," said another European security official speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk publicly about the issue.
Officials at Egypt's newly established National Security apparatus, which is now the gatekeeper of all documents and records related to the Islamic jihadists, declined to provide any details or information about al-Adel or Makkawi.
The new body is replacing Egypt's State Security apparatus, which was dissolved after the toppling of Hosni Mubarak.
Should Makkawi ever come forward and try to get his name off the most-wanted terrorist list, it won't be easy.
But there are a few possibilities. Those include being tried, having the charges dropped - or dying.
"The individuals listed on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorist page will remain wanted in connection with their alleged crimes until such time as they have been arrested, charges are dropped or when credible physical evidence is obtained, which proves with 100 percent accuracy, that they are deceased," the FBI said.
___
Contributing to this report were Maggie Michael from Cairo, Kathy Gannon from Islamabad and Karl Ritter from Stockholm.
END
Al-Qaeda ( القاعدة, al-qāʿidah)
This is hilarious, but I am not surprised. The FBI still think Osama Bin Laden was the head of Al-Qaeda. He was just a cog in the wheel, merely a figurehead, and the real head of Al-Qaeda was reported to have very nearly turned Bin Laden in years ago for the huge reward!
New "Figurehead"
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri, Arabic: أيمن محمد ربيع الظواهري ʾAyman Muḥammad Rabīʿ aẓ-Ẓawāhirī, detailed transliteration: Åỉmɑn Mʋhɑm̑ɑd Rɑbio alƵ̑ɑuaeɩri ; born June 19, 1951) is an Egyptian Islamic theologian and current "leader" of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life imprisonment. His wife and three of his six children were killed in an air strike on Afghanistan by US forces in late 2001, following the September 11 attacks on the USA.
As of May 2, 2011, he was assumed to be the figurehead of al-Qaeda following the death of Osama bin Laden. This was confirmed by a press release from al-Qaeda's general command on June 16. After the 9/11 attacks the U.S. State Department offered a US$25 million reward for information leading to al-Zawahiri's apprehension.
Wikipedia
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