Osama's Top Brass

How bin Laden's hidden inner circle does his dirty work

Osama bin Laden may be public Enemy No. 1 in America's war on terrorism, but his is far from a one-man operation. Like any savvy CEO, the wealthy Saudi knows how to delegate. So while he concentrates on the big picture, he leaves the nagging details of his holy war to a capable group of top lieutenants.

Only last January, in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, bin Laden's eldest son married the daughter of his longtime military chief and sometime media adviser, Mohammed Atef. Also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Hafs al-Masri, the Egyptian former policeman helped set...

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