By PAUL HAVEN
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Osama bin Laden may no longer have operational control of his terrorist network, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan said Monday.
Ryan Crocker said bin Laden cannot communicate with his followers because he likely is hiding in a remote area, Pakistan's Geo Television and state-run PTV reported after the ambassador met with local journalists.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Peter Kovach, who was at the gathering, confirmed the substance of the reports. He said the comments were made at a lunch for senior Pakistani journalists.
Neither station broadcast a tape of the remarks, and Kovach said he had no recording, either.
According to Geo, Crocker also doubted suggestions that bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, had effective control of al-Qaida, saying the fact that he issues occasional video and audio taped statements does not prove anything.
The al-Qaida No. 2 was last heard from on a tape that surfaced Sunday, urging all Muslims to take up arms and saying a refusal to join the fight against Jews and Christians would lead to the defeat of militant Islam.
He said the global Islamic community had "no hope for victory" until all Muslims signed on to the al-Qaida-led jihad. His comments were contained in a 48-minute tape entitled "Impediments to Jihad."
The video portion of the tape was a still photo of a white-turbaned al-Zawahri with English subtitles running under it. The audio appeared to be his voice speaking Arabic.
It was impossible to verify the authenticity of the tape.
Bin Laden and al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding in the mountainous area between Pakistan and Afghanistan, though there has been no hard evidence of their whereabouts for years. (rest of story.)
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