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Osama not in control, says U.S. envoy

B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD: United States ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C. Crocker claimed on Monday that Osama bin Laden is no more the operational commander of Al-Qaeda.

"I think Osama is no more operational commander of Al-Qaeda. Osama may be hiding in remote areas and it is not possible for him to establish contacts with his Al-Qaeda members," he told a group of journalists here.

Referring to the claim of Aiman al-Zawahiri that Osama is still commanding Al-Qaeda, Mr. Crocker said that releasing video after every three or four weeks regarding Osama did not mean that Osama and Al-Zawahiri are still commanding Al-Qaeda operations.

At the same time, Mr. Crocker maintained that he did not know whether Al-Zawahiri is leading Al-Qaeda now. The ambassador said he has received conflicting reports about the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Abu Hamza Rabia in Mir Ali in North Waziristan last week. He said the leaders of Al-Qaeda are facing serious problems due to the arrest and assassination of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Abu Faraj Al-Libbi and Hamza Rabia.

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