Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri - Research Paper

Introduction

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, commonly known as Osama bin Laden, was a Saudi Arabian most wanted terrorist who led the Al-Qaeda group. Laden was famous after executing several attacks like the attack of embassies of Libya and Kenya and the 9/11 American attack. He was killed ten years after by the American operatives in 2011 (Sude, 2015). Ayman al-Zawahiri is currently the most wanted terrorist. He took over the Al-Qaeda leadership after the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011. Al-Zawahiri was the ideologist of Osama bin Laden; therefore, immediately after Laden's death, he became the most wanted terrorist on the FBI list. Ayman al-Zawahiri and Laden used some similar and other different leadership and communication strategies. This paper is an analysis of differences and similarities of the leadership and communication techniques of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

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Differences

Extremity

Laden was an extreme leader, while Al-Zawahiri is a weak leader ("Ayman al-Zawahiri," 2018). Laden was an extremist who aimed at mass destruction intending to get back at other country's leadership. Laden proclaimed the Islamic state of leadership, which claimed at mass killing for revenge. Al-Zawahiri, on the other hand, is a weak leader who has been hiding since he assumed the command of Al-Qaeda. Unlike Laden, he has not been exercising the terrorist principles of the group. Most of the group members have been killed and their hiding areas destroyed, thus rendering it weak. Al-Zawahiri has not executed a major attack compared to Laden.

Seniority

Laden was a terrorist CEO, while Al-Zawahiri is just a subordinate (Hoffman, 2013). Laden applied modern management and business administration strategies in his leadership and communication. The skills, which he attained from his university level of learning, Laden used them to plan and execute attacks without being caught for a long time. The former Al-Qaeda leader practiced subordination, whereby he had Al-Zawahiri as his right-hand man and other leaders in the group who assisted him in strategic planning. On the contrary, Al-Zawahiri has grown so weak; thus, despite being the group leader, he is still the subordinate to Laden. Although the organization continues mass training and suicide bombing, its ability to remain in the headlines have been diminished by the hiding of their leader.

Focus

Laden has a specific focus compared to Al-Zawahiri (Sude, 2015). Laden's primary focus was the destruction of the United States. This was proved by the most dangerous attack in the country that happened on September 11, 2011. Laden had a purpose in attacking and disarming the United States since it stood out as his number one threat to his terrorist mission. He also kept communication with the U.S operatives. The group released several audio and video recording covering their tasks for the world to see. Since Al-Zawahiri assumed the position of Al-Qaeda leader, he has not been able to remain relevant in terms of purpose and communication. Al-Qaeda barely focusses on the U.S following their hunting by the FBI since 2011. During Laden's time, Al-Qaeda's news made the daily headlines in significant broadcasting networks. Today, the group is rarely mentioned, hence revealing their weakening operating strategies.

Coordination and Communication

Laden's coordination and communication networks were stronger, safer, and convenient compared to that of Al-Zawahiri (Byman & Williams, 2015). The main reason as to why Osama was traced and killed ten years later after the 9/11 attack was because he used the untraceable network to communicate. This kept him and his group safe from the U.S operatives and their missions a secret. Al-Zawahiri, on the other hand, does not have such untraceable and robust communication network. Even though he has managed to stay in hiding since 2011, at least a third of his members have been killed and captured, thus they have been recruiting more followers. In less than ten years, the U.S forces have succeeded in making the organization focus on America. It is for this reason that Al-Qaeda terror attacks have been scattered all over the world.

Similarities

Despite the numerous differences in the mode of leadership and communication between Osama bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri, there are several characteristics they share. Their unique characters make it easy to compare them. Some of those similarities are as follows.

Al-Qaeda Leaders

Both are Al-Qaeda leaders. Laden is the former leader of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group ("Council on Foreign Relations," 2011). He successfully led the organization for many years before his death in 2011. During his reign, Al-Zawahiri was his closest ally. After his death, Al-Zawahiri succeeded him and led the team to date. Although not as strong as Laden's time, Al-Zawahiri has kept the organization running and attacking different countries.

Communication

Al-Zawahiri and Laden communicate with their followers (Gohel, 2017). Laden, in his time, used to communicate with his group member through coded and encoded messages. They communicated via disposable phone calls and messages and face to face messages. Just like Laden, Al-Zawahiri also interacts with his followers using the same methods.

Terrorist

Both leaders are terrorism focused (Ayman al-Zawahiri, 2018). The two have spent all their lives being trained to be terrorist. Al-Zawahiri joined the Al-Qaida group when he was 15. They both grew up learning how to plan both national and international attacks. Laden's difficult situations might have contributed to being a terrorist. It is reported that Laden was missing some of his toes from the Soviet-Afghan war. Most of his attacks towards America were said to be his revenge against such attacks by the United States forces.

Conclusion

Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri reveal similarity and differences in their leadership and communication techniques. Laden was killed in 2011. Al-Zawahiri then succeeded him by continuing to plan and execute terror attacks in different countries. He is now the most wanted criminal in the United States soil. The two leaders have differences in terms of extremity, executive, focus and communication, and coordination. Laden was more of a worse terrorist compared to Al-Zawahiri. The Al-Qaeda group is rated weaker now that during the Laden's ruling. One of the reasons for its weakness is because Al-Zawahiri went to hiding since he was declared most wanted. The FBI has been searching for him since 2011. The two terrorist leaders a lot in common in terms of leadership and communication strategies. Some of the similarities are that they are both Al-Qaeda leaders, they communicate with their group members, and both are a full-time terrorist. Study shows that the two criminals have passed through difficult and terrorism situations which molded them to be so notorious. They both joined terrorist groups at a tender age. It is important to note that Laden is a University graduate with a bachelor in business and management, an aspect which contributed to his well-organized and mastermind terror attacks before his death.

References

Ayman al-Zawahiri (2018). The Counter Extremist Project. Retrieved from https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/ayman-al-zawahiri

Council on Foreign Relations. (2011, July 14). Profile: Ayman al-Zawahiri. Retrieved from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/profile-ayman-al-zawahiri

Byman,, D., & Williams, J. R. (2015, August 19). Al Qaeda Is Losing the Battle for Jihadi Hearts and Minds. Retrieved from https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/08/19/al-qaeda-losing-battle-jihadi-hearts-minds-zawahiri-tape/

Gohel, S. M. (2017) Deciphering Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Al-Qaeda's strategic and ideological imperatives. Perspectives on Terrorism, 11 (1). pp. 54-67. ISSN 2334-3745. Retrieved from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/86743/1/Gohel_Deciphering%20Al-Qaeda_2018.pdf

Hoffman, B. (2013, April). The Leadership Secrets of Osama bin Laden. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/04/the-leadership-secrets-of-osama-bin-laden/302702/

Sude, B. (2015, September). Assessing Al-Qa`ida Central's Resilience. Retrieved from https://ctc.usma.edu/assessing-al-qaida-centrals-resilience/