A Sinister Menage-A-Trois

It isn't just Osama bin Laden Washington is gunning for. It also wants to nab his key aides and destroy the bases of the Al Qaeda organisation in Afghanistan. Topping the list are Sheikh Taseer Abdullah, who in Washington's list of most wanted men is referred to as Mohammad Atef, and Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri. Both are Egyptians and considered extremely close to bin Laden.

A former Egyptian police officer, Taseer Abdullah is the military commander of the Al Qaeda and played a vital role in the Taliban's five-year war against the Northern Alliance. Once described by bin Laden as his right-hand man, the ties between the two were further strengthened when bin Laden's eldest son Mohammad married Abdullah's daughter recently. The US government has announced a whopping $5-million reward for anyone who captures Abdullah.

Al-Zawahiri, a doctor by training, heads the Al Jehad group, or Islamic Jehad, in Egypt, and has been living in Afghanistan under Osama's protection. His class background is interesting—his grandfather was Egypt's ambassador to Pakistan in the '50s. His eminence in the organisation is also because he speaks English fluently, often acting as bin Laden's translator during interviews with the media.

The troika is completed by the shadowy presence of Abu Zubaida, reportedly the link between bin Laden and his supporters outside Afghanistan. If the Al Qaeda did play a role in the September 11 US attacks, then the planning and coordination would definitely have been Zubaida's.

Locating Osama and his men won't be as easy as identifying terrorist camps in Afghanistan. Some of these camps served as bases for the mujahids in their fight against the Soviets. A generation of fighters have been trained here, their facilities were also utilised by Pakistani and Kashmiri groups for their battle in the Valley. Destruction of these camps would, indeed, debilitate militant groups. But it will be a long haul, as Washington seems to be realising belatedly.