Opinion by Hamid Mir: If bin Laden was once the public face of al-Qaeda, Zawahiri was its brains.
I thought about his deep ties to jihadism in the country. The fact that he was living openly in the capital was also a clear reminder that the Taliban has not changed its old ways — it’s evident Zawahiri was still a figure to be treated with respect, despite
. And even if Zawahiri wasn’t the al-Qaeda operational mastermind he once was, he was clearly important for the Taliban: an Arab jihadist who openly opposed the Islamic State and saw the Taliban as a partner.My first interview with bin Laden took place in a cave in the Tora Bora mountains in 1997, where several of his comrades acted as interpreters. They were not Arabs, and bin Laden was clearly not satisfied with their work. The second interview a year later went very differently.
During the lunch break, I asked Zawahiri, “Where were you last year?” “I was in a Russian jail,” he answered. Bin Laden noticed my curiosity and added that it was not the first time his friend was arrested; he also spent many years in“Who are you?” I asked. “I am an eye surgeon, but it is no more a profession — it is just a hobby now,” Zawahiri replied. I laughed and asked about his real profession. He said he was in the business of medicines and chemicals.
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