PERSONNEL NEWS – AT 8:55 A.M. ET:  We always want to keep you up to date on the important executive promotions.  From Fox:

Usama bin Laden reportedly has a new terrorist assigned to targeting the West.

Saif Al-Adel, a native of Egypt, is Al Qaeda's new chief of international operations, Britain's The Telegraph reported, citing unnamed U.S. and Pakistani sources.

But sources tell Fox News that investigators cannot agree on whether Al-Adel has taken on one of Al Qaeda's top operational positions, partly because there is disagreement over whether Al-Adel is still hiding in Iran.

The respected NEFA foundation, which tracks terrorists worldwide, cites a European intelligence source who says Al-Adel is believed to be in Waziristan, part of the tribal areas of Pakistan.

Al-Adel has served as the head of the military committee of Al Qaeda after the death of Mohammed Atef in late 2001, making him the commander over Khalid Sheikh Muhammad.

He also has a longstanding working relation with Iran, going back the early 1990s, when he went from Sudan to Lebanon to be trained by Hezbollah in improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

COMMENT:  Well, we'll wait for confirmation in the form of a public announcement.  There is no news about compensation, or whether Al-Adel, should he be ousted, would get a golden suicide belt.

The very fact that this story is running shows that Al Qaeda, far from being moribund, is alive and planning. 

November 13, 2010