PERSONNEL NEWS – AT 6:09 A.M. ET:  Al Qaeda has a new chief.  From Fox:

CAIRO -- Al-Qaida's longtime No. 2 leader, a doctor from a prominent Egyptian family who worked with Osama bin Laden for decades, has succeeded the slain terrorist as head of the global network, the group said Thursday.

"A doctor from a prominent Egyptian family..."  Certainly gives the lie to the leftist babble that terrorists are downtrodden souls struggling to overcome poverty, oppression and lack of Netflix subscriptions.

Ayman al-Zawahri, who turns 60 on Sunday, has long brought ideological fire, tactics and organizational skills to al-Qaida. The surgeon by training has promoted the use of suicide bombings and independent terror cells that have become the network's trademarks.

He is believed to be living somewhere near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and has appeared in dozens of videos and audiotapes in recent years, increasingly becoming the face of al-Qaida as bin Laden kept a lower profile.

The two terror leaders first crossed paths in the late 1980s in the caves of Afghanistan, where al-Zawahri reportedly provided medical treatment to bin Laden and other Islamic fighters battling Soviet forces. Their alliance would develop years later into the al-Qaida terror network blamed for America's worst terror attack in its history.

In a videotaped eulogy released earlier this month, al-Zawahri warned that America still faces an international community of Muslims that seek to destroy it.

COMMENT:  There is no word yet on salary and benefits, or use of the company plane.  But he does get the corner cave and a golden suicide belt, should he be eased out. 

June 16, 2011