Guardian Unlimited: The hunt for 'Public Enemy No 2'

"Even to say he is Bin Laden's right-hand man may, in fact, understate his importance...Some analysts believe that in his current role in Afghanistan, al-Zawahiri has taken over control of much of Bin Laden's terrorist finances, operations, plans and resources, following the assurance reportedly given by Bin Laden to the Taliban that he would no longer engage in terrorist activities." UK.