al-Suri

Abu Musab al-Suri, The Call for Global Islamic Resistance, published on jihadist websites, 2004.

The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

The intense Syrian jihadist intellectual Abu Musab al-Suri explains that bin Laden came to this strategic analysis because “Sheikh Osama had studied the collapse of the Soviet Union and of the dictator governments in Warsaw Pact countries and, as had happened in East Germany, Romania, Poland and other countries; he was convinced that with the fall of the United States, all the components of the existing Arab and Islamic regimes would fall as well.”

The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

In 2004, Abu Musab al-Suri, a precise, intellectual Syrian jihadist who had known bin Laden since the late 1980s, released on the Internet a history of the jihadist movement titled “The Call for Global Islamic Resistance.”

The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

Abu Musab al-Suri, The Call for Global Islamic Resistance, published on jihadist websites, 2004.

The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

Abu Musab al-Suri Mustafa Setmariam Nasar—captured in 2005, now jailed, location not known, perhaps Syria

The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

The intense Syrian jihadist intellectual Abu Musab al-Suri explains that bin Laden came to this strategic analysis because “Sheikh Osama had studied the collapse of the Soviet Union and of the dictator governments in Warsaw Pact countries and, as had happened in East Germany, Romania, Poland and other countries; he was convinced that with the fall of the United States, all the components of the existing Arab and Islamic regimes would fall as well.”

The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

Abu Musab al-Suri, The Call for Global Islamic Resistance, published on jihadist websites, 2004.

The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

The fact is that Ayman al-Zawahiri -- the 'second in command' -- is a medical doctor with no qualifications; Abu Musab al-Suri, "one of al-Qaida's leading military thinkers," studied mechanical engineering, and failed to complete the degree; Abd al-Qadir bin 'Abd al-'Aziz, lauded as one of "the most influential Egyptian Jihadi theorists," also lacks a formal religious education.

Azeem Ibrahim: Reassessing Osama Bin Laden's Legacy Azeem Ibrahim 2011

Abu Musab al-Suri, The Call for Global Islamic Resistance, published on jihadist websites, 2004.

The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011

Abu Musab al-Suri, seen here in an instructional videotape made before 9/11 in which he criticized the existing hierarchical and bureaucratic nature of al-Qaeda and instead advocated for a less centralized jihadist movement.

The Longest War Peter L. Bergen 2011