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Archive for the 'Osama bin Laden' Category


Summary: Psychological assessments of U.S. presidents and presidential candidates, world leaders, and rogue or terrorist leaders conducted at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics.


Jun 8th, 2011

Summary: In a eulogy posted on militant websites, Osama bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, said the slain al-Qaida leader “terrified America” when he was alive and would continue to do so in death, remaining a “source of horror and a nightmare chasing America, Israel, and their allies.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 8, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported public opinion polling in the Minnesota gubernatorial race showing Independence Party candidate Tom Horner rising significantly in the polls and receiving support from equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats.


May 19th, 2011

Summary: Pakistan has witnessed a jump in violence since al-Qaida and its Pakistan Taliban allies threatened to avenge the May 2, 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden, including a twin suicide bombing in Shabqadar that killed more than 80 people, most of them paramilitary recruits, and an attempted bombing of two U.S. consular vehicles in Peshawar. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on May 19, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that Taliban insurgents launched a brazen pre-dawn attack on Bagram air base north of Kabul, one day after the deadliest day of the year for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, with seven Americans dead.



Summary: A leading specialist on al-Qaida, Noman Benotman, says Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian, is acting as interim operational leader of the terrorist organization pending the expected appointment of deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahiri as successor to Osama bin Laden. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on May 18, 2010, Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, compiled from U.S. Department of Defense News Releases.


May 13th, 2011

Summary: The discovery of pornography in Osama bin Laden’s possession is consistent with his psychological profile, which I developed at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics in the months following the attacks of 9/11 and presented in June 2002 at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology in Berlin. According to the profile, Bin Laden, whom I classified as a “unprincipled narcissist,” did not fit the profile of the highly conscientious, closed-minded religious fundamentalist, nor that of the religious martyr who combines those qualities with devout, self-sacrificing features. Far from being a religious zealot, the profile suggests that Bin Laden — in Machiavellian fashion — was adept at exploiting Islamic fundamentalism in the service of his own burning ambition and personal dreams of glory.


May 9th, 2011

Summary: Video footage taken from Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, shows the terrorist leader watching news coverage of himself on television. The videos include outtakes of his propaganda films and, taken together, portray him as someone obsessed with his own image and how he is portrayed to the world. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on May 9, 2010, Aubrey Immelman featured the story of Eva Briseno, mother of wounded warrior Joseph “Jay” Briseno Jr., one of the most severely wounded soldiers ever to survive.


May 4th, 2011

Summary: In view of the vital national security interests of the U.S. and its allies in the war on terror to accurately conceptualize the leadership role structure (terrorist types) in an organization such as al-Qaida and to interdict future attacks, Aubrey Immelman provides a summary of his analysis of the key leadership roles in global-reach terrorism operations. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on May 4, 2010, Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.


May 2nd, 2011

Summary: Psychological report and personality profile of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, prepared in the months following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on May 2, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that police investigating a failed car bomb left in Times Square had videotape of a possible suspect shedding clothing in an alley and putting it in a bag.


May 1st, 2011

Summary: Osama bin Laden, the Saudi extremist whose al-Qaida terrorist organization killed more than 3,000 people in coordinated attacks on the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, is dead following a military operation in Pakistan and the U.S. has recovered his body, President Barack Obama announced. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on May 1, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that police found an apparent car bomb in a parked sport utility vehicle in New York City’s Times Square, then evacuated buildings and cleared streets of thousands of tourists.


Oct 27th, 2010

Summary: Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden threatens in a new audiotape to kill French citizens to avenge France’s support for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and a new law that will ban face-covering Muslim veils. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on October 27, 2009, Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.