To borrow a phrase from the Bush administration, let me be clear: the CIA's clandestine service has done an amazing job in tracking down and finding Al Qaeda leaders. The CIA has taken a beating for its failure to prevent the September 11 attacks and its poor intelligence on weapons of mass destruction Iraq, and deservedly so. But despite years of neglect, the Directorate of Operations has been able to swing into action with remarkable agility, and despite a rising global tide of violence the intelligence and law enforcement community generally has done a good job of cooperating with their partners around the globe. Additionally, a good number of top Al Qaeda people have been killed in military action in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, it is somewhat disquieting that the National Security Advisor, the President's personal foreign policy expert, is either underbriefed, forgetful, or uninterested in details.
As for me, I'm not sure exactly which definition of "known leadership" the CIA is using here. Dan Darling put together his own list from memory here, but I have no idea what the criteria were or how accurate and comprehensive it is. A little over a year ago, the CIA released a report saying that it had killed "two-thirds" of top Al Qaeda leaders, which in my understanding meant about 20 out of 30. Not "hundreds." But an achievement nonetheless.
In any case, here is how Ronan Gunaratna described Al Qaeda's "known leadership" in his 2002 book, Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror:
Immediately below the emir-general in Al Qaeda's structure stands the shura majlis, or consultative council, which consists of very experienced members. Among the first to join were Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Aby Ayoub al-Iraqi, al-Banshiri, Abu Hafs el-Khabir, Abu Ibrahim al-Iraqi, Dr. Fadhl el-Masry, Aby Faraj al-Yemeni, Abu Fadhlal-Makkee (from Mecca), Sheikh Sayyid al-Masry, a Qaricept al-Jizaeri (an Algerian Koranic scholar), Khalifa al-Muscat Omani, Saif al-Liby, Abu Burhan al-Iraqi and Abu Muhammad al-Masry Saad al-Sharif. Periodically shura members leave and new members are appointed. To ensure legitimacy and loyalty, Osama appoints prominent personalities and trusted personal followers to key positions. Although Al Qaeda is a political group driven by an interpretive religious ideology, it operates on the basis of a cultural network, recruiting known persons, yet there is no formal procedure for recruitment, appointment or promotion. While it considers merit, ability and performance, Al Qaeda determines its promotions and appointments on the basis of ties of family, friendship and nationality.And so on and so forth. But Gunaratna also notes:
Immediately below the shura majlis and reporting to it are four operational committess: military; finance and business; fatwa and Islamic study; and media and publicity, which ensure the smooth day-to-day running of Al Qaeda, each headed by an emir. While the emir and deputy emir have responsibility for each committee, its members also form compartmentalized working groups for special assignments. At times handpicked members of these committees, especially the military, conduct special assignments for Osama or for his designated operational commanders. Some members serve in more than one committee or are rotated between them.
As a fluid and dynamic, goal-oriented rather than rule-oriented organization, Al Qaeda is always liable to change its structure, according to circumstances. That structure has evolved considerably since the East Africa bombings, but that of the shura majlis and the four committees persists. Although Osama has felt the need to expand his operations, security threats to it curbed many of its overt activities, and he and Al Qaeda became increasingly clandestine, chossing to operate through front, cover and sympathetic organizations, the exception being it activities in Afghanistan.So there you have it.
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