Osama Bin Laden Warned Of Civil War Between Jihadi Groups

Morning Edition, NPR News
Host: Mary Louise Kelly

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Here’s one way to think about Osama bin Laden: as the one-time leader of a now fading terror network. Most terror experts believe that al-Qaida today has been eclipsed by the even more savage Islamic State, or ISIS…

Patrick Skinner, who served as a CIA case officer in the Middle East, says bin Laden was terrified of picking a fight he couldn’t win.

Skinner, who is now with the national security consultancy, The Soufan Group, says that in the years following Sept. 11, bin Laden’s followers in north Africa and the Middle East were pushing hard to establish a physical territory, or caliphate.

Bin Laden pushed back, and this issue of how and when to declare a caliphate became a serious fault line, says Skinner.

“He was terrified of a jihadist civil war, of what is happening now. In every letter he wrote — he wrote a lot of letters — he would just stress patience, and don’t be divisive. He didn’t want the Muslim community to tear themselves apart. And he was right about that,” Skinner adds…

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To listen to the full interview and read the transcript please click on the link below:
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/03/07/469462392/osama-bin-laden-warned-of-civil-war-between-jihadi-groups