Is The Tide Turning Against Osama Bin Laden?

Is The Tide Turning Against Osama Bin Laden? One of the Co-Creators of al-Qaeda has abandoned ship. He has written a book questioning the rationale behind the attacks by al-Qaida on the United States, asking how beneficial it might be to the cause of Islam in destroying "one of your enemy's buildings and he destroys one of your countries?

That is on top of the UCLA study that has supposedly narrowed Osama's hiding spots to one of three buildings. So is the tide finally turning against Osama Bin Laden? Read the below and you decide:

Rift Within al-Qaida? Is Osama About to be Found?


By CLAUDE SALHANI
 
In a book written by an al-Qaida founder, Osama Bin Laden is the target of blame for the destruction of Arab countries resulting from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks (... 'you destroy his building, he destroys a country'). The photo shows a Bin Laden propaganda poster found by U.S. forces in an al-Qaida training classroom in the Zhawar Kili area of Eastern Afghanistan.


This has not been a good week for al-Qaida and its top leadership. First, one of the founders of the number one terror group in the world has come out with a stunning attack on the current top leadership of al-Qaida, accusing them of being immoral, corrupt and on the payroll of Arab intelligence services. And second, geographers from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) believe to have narrowed down the possible hiding place of the organization's mastermind, Osama bin Laden, to three buildings in Pakistan.


Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, better known by his pseudonym of Dr. Fadl, has accused both bin Laden and his Egyptian deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, of hijacking the cause and derailing the original ideology he helped establish almost two decades ago.


Does this unexpected turn of events herald the beginning of a major shift in the world of takfiri Islamists? Perhaps. In any case it is bound to have repercussions on many of those sitting on the fence of radical Islamism, teetering between falling prey to those calling for terrorist acts and those advocating that the killing of innocents is un-Islamic and goes counter to everything that the Koran and Islam stand for.


As for bin Laden and his entourage, they may have bigger problems than bad public relations. Using standard geographic tools, the kind used to locate endangered species and criminals on the lam, a group of researchers at UCLA claim they have narrowed bin Laden's hiding place to three possible buildings in the northwestern Pakistani city of Parachinar.


Before releasing the information to the public, Thomas W. Gillespie, the group's head researcher, a biogeographer from UCLA was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying he and his students first contacted the FBI with their findings. The FBI refused to comment on the report, stating they never talk about "an active investigation."


Sharif, who was nabbed in Yemen shortly after the Sept.11, 2001 attacks and extradited to Egypt, is serving time in Cairo's infamous Tora Prison for his part in trying to instigate a revolt in Egypt in the 1990s. He launched his surprise assault on his former comrades in arms from his cell, in a newly released book he wrote behind bars.


In his book Dr. Fadl condemns what he called the murder of innocent victims, saying it went contrary to Islam. He goes on to accuse the two top leaders of al-Qaida of being responsible for "every drop of blood that was shed or is being shed in Afghanistan and Iraq."


Sharif questions in his book the rationale behind the attacks by al-Qaida on the United States, asking how beneficial it might be to the cause of Islam in destroying "one of your enemy's buildings and he destroys one of your countries?


He called the 9/11 attacks against the World Trade Center in New York and against the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. "immoral and counterproductive."


In a major change of policy from what seems to be the current takfiri modus operandi, Dr. Fadl opposes the use of terrorism by Muslims living in the West on the grounds that "it is not honorable," after they have invited you into their homes.


He is particularly harsh on bin Laden's number two, who according to a report published in the London Telegraph newspaper, Dr. Fadl has known for 40 years.


The Telegraph quotes the jailed Egyptian dissident saying that Zawahiri is a "liar who was paid by Sudan's intelligence service to organize terrorist attacks in Egypt in the 1990s."


The paper's Cairo correspondent quotes a 26-year veteran of Egypt's State Security Directorate, as saying that "Dr. Fadl's assault on al-Qaida's core leaders had been very effective, both in prison and outside."


As for finding bin Laden, using part guesswork, part detective work and working from satellite maps and images, the UCLA team concluded that the unwell bin Laden must have walked almost two miles before reaching Parachinar, a city with a population of half a million.


Scrutinizing every building through the use of satellite imagery, the group searched for one that would accommodate bin Laden and his party. They looked for buildings with walls at least 10 feet high to provide security and privacy; with at least three rooms and with continuous electricity needed to keep bin Laden's kidney dialysis machine functioning.


Three buildings fit the bill. Stay tuned.