Militants behead two soldiers

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan  (AFP) – Eleven Pakistani soldiers were killed including two who were beheaded after being captured during fighting with Islamist militants in North Waziristan, officials said Monday.
Gunmen armed with rockets attacked a military convoy on Sunday, sparking gun battles near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan — an Al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.
The military said nine soldiers were killed in the clashes over several hours and claimed that “heavy casualties” were inflicted on the militants.
The heads of a further two soldiers were later found dumped without their bodies — one hanging from a barbed wire fence in the neighbourhood of Makane Bagh and the other in Zafar Town, local officials said.
Three worshippers were also killed and 15 wounded when a shell hit a mosque near Miranshah on Sunday, security officials and residents told AFP.
On Monday, army helicopters shelled suspected militant hideouts in the suburb of Tatta Khel and an indefinite curfew continued into a second day, officials and local residents said.
Helicopter gunships bombarded a three-storey building known to contain weapons shops in Miranshah’s main bazaar, causing a huge fire, witnesses said.
The building in Noor Din arms market was hit several times by shells from the helicopters, an eyewitness told AFP requesting anonymity.
“I can see a huge fire and can hear the explosions, I do not know whether people are trapped inside or not, it’s already curfew here,” he said.
Gunbattles between soldiers and militants are relatively rare in Miranshah.
Pakistan has resisted US pressure to launch a full-scale operation against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in North Waziristan, where they are instead frequently targeted by US drone strikes.
The most recent, on Saturday, killed at least 10 militants according to officials.
Pakistani-US relations have been in crisis for much of the past year and Islamabad has made increasingly vocal public denunciations of the drone strikes, despite having given initial tacit approval.
The fighting in Miranshah followed the murder last week of a senior Muslim cleric, Maulana Naseeb Khan, who taught at a madrassa near the northwestern city of Peshawar where several Taliban leaders studied.
The cleric, who came from North Waziristan, was kidnapped near Peshawar and found dead on Thursday. After his funeral, the Taliban distributed a pamphlet blaming the Pakistani army and vowing to avenge his killing.

Bloodied but still perfect, Floyd Mayweather Jr. beats Miguel Cotto by unanimous decision

LAS VEGAS – Just a few weeks before he heads to jail for the summer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. earned a bit of cash for the canteen on Saturday by lifting the World Boxing Association super welterweight title from Miguel Cotto.
 Mayweather won a unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Garden, taking the back-and-forth bout by scores of 117-111, 118-110 and 117-111. Yahoo! Sports had it 115-113 for Mayweather.
The Y! Sports pound-for-pound king smiled as he congratulated Cotto and said, "You are a hell of a champion. You're the toughest guy I ever fought."
Mayweather earned a guaranteed $32 million plus aFloyd Mayweather Jr. called Miguel Cotto "the toughest guy" he ever fought. (Getty Images) share of the pay-per-view revenues. The win was the unbeaten Mayweather's 43rd and is likely to intensify calls for a bout against Manny Pacquiao, the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
"When fights are on pay-per-view, you want to give the fans what they paid for and that's excitement," Mayweather said. "It comes with the territory when you fight a future Hall of Famer like Miguel Cotto. I had to fight hard, suck it up. He's a tough competitor. I knew I'd have to come in the ring, fight hard and execute the game plan.
"Cotto is a future Hall of Famer. He's no pushover, and he came to fight. He didn't come just to survive, he came to fight. I dug down and fought him back."
[Related: Justin Bieber joins Money Team for walk to the ring]
Before any more talk about a potential superfight against Pacquiao is mulled, Mayweather must serve 87 days beginning June 1 after pleading guilty to domestic violence charges resulting from a 2010 incident involving his girlfriend.
Some thought the impending jail sentence might be a distraction, but he was typically brilliant against Cotto. Mayweather, who was led to the ring by pop singer Justin Bieber, had a 179-105 edge in punches landed, according to CompuBox. More significantly, Mayweather landed the harder shots and seemed to have Cotto in trouble in several rounds.
In particular, Mayweather hurt Cotto in the 12th, wobbling him with a sharp left hand. Cotto kept trying to pressure and work the body, but Mayweather was very good defensively and blocked a lot of Cotto's blows with his arms while they were on the inside.
Cotto, who was pummeled in bouts in 2008 by Antonio Margarito and in 2009 by Pacquiao, made it a competitive fight and brought the crowd to its feet several times by landing hard shots. The problem, though, was that Cotto rarely could land a strong combination.
Will Mayweather face Manny Pacquiao next (Getty Images)Much of Mayweather's best work came when Cotto pinned him in the corner. That seemed to be where Cotto wanted the fight, but Mayweather did a terrific job of fighting his way off the ropes, using his fast hands and incredibly accurate punching.
Cotto landed 105 of 506 shots, most of which were thrown with bad intentions. Still, Mayweather showed his mettle by taking whatever Cotto had to give.
Mayweather now has to let his wounds heal – he was bleeding from the nose and face, beginning in the middle of the fight – before he packs up and goes off to jail.
"It comes with the territory," Mayweather said of his upcoming jail term. "In life, there are obstacles, and I take the good with the good and the bad with the bad."
The fight was mostly good, and when it ended Mayweather walked to Cotto and they embraced. Despite the scores, it was a pitched battle and Cotto exacted his pound of flesh. Cotto left the ring without speaking to reporters.
[Martin Rogers: Alvarez beats Mosley, perhaps setting up a bout with Mayweather]
Now, the question will be whether he'll be able to fight Pacquiao after he gets out of jail. Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday just as Mayweather and Cotto were beginning their fight. He's going to prepare for a June 9 fight in the same building against Timothy Bradley.
Again, Mayweather said the fight the sport wants to see hinges on whether Pacquiao will agree to random drug and urine testing.
"I tried to make the Pacquiao fight and that didn't work, so I fought Miguel Cotto instead and gave the fans a great fight," Mayweather said. "I'm just trying to make that fight. I want to fight Pacquiao, but he needs to take the test and I'll fight him. Miguel Cotto agreed to take the blood and urine test. Pacquiao can do the same."

Kim Kardashian wants divorce to move forward

• FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2011 file …
• FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2011 file …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kim Kardashian's attorney told a judge Friday that the reality star wants her divorce from Kris Humphries to move forward but that the case has been slowed by the NBA player's hurt feelings and his desire for an annulment.

Humphries' attorneys said they needed more time to gather information to decide whether to pursue allegations that the couple's 72-day marriage was a fraud. Proving the allegations would likely require a trial, which Kardashian's attorney Laura Wasser said could prove costly to her estranged husband.
The couple was married last summer in a lavish, star-studded and televised ceremony, but Kardashian filed for divorce on Oct. 31. Humphries responded a month later asking for an annulment, claiming the couple's nuptials were based on a fraud, but not laying out specific evidence.
"I feel that (Humphries') personal feelings and maybe some media drive is keeping this case alive," Wasser said. She said the couple is eligible for a divorce since it has been more than six months since Kardashian filed her petition.
"Certainly, they've been separated longer than they've been married," Wasser said.
She said if the case goes to trial and Kardashian wins, she will ask that Humphries pay her hefty legal fees. Currently, Kardashian wants each side to pay their own fees.
The comments came during a routine hearing Friday in which a judge allowed Humphries' Minnesota attorney, Lee Hutton, to take part in the case.
Humphries' Los Angeles-based attorney Marshall Waller said they had to wait for the motion to be approved but that he expects to seek key information and the depositions of essential witnesses in the next few weeks.
Superior Court Judge Stephen Moloney told both sides to return to court on Aug. 15 for a status hearing.
Neither Kardashian nor Humphries attended Friday's proceedings.
Kardashian is the star of the E! Entertainment Television series "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," which was E! Entertainment Television's top-rated show, averaging more than three million viewers in its sixth season.
Humphries, a power forward who has played with the New Jersey Nets, is an unrestricted free agent.

All you need to know about ALEXI LALAS

Alexi Lalas

Alexi Lalas

Personal information
Full name	Panayotis Alexander Lalas
Date of birth	June 1, 1970 (age 41)
Place of birth	Birmingham, Michigan, United States
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
1988–1991	Rutgers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1995	Padova	33	(3)
1995–1996	→ Padova (loan from MLS)	11	(0)
1996–1997	New England Revolution	57	(3)
1997	→ Emelec (loan)
1998	MetroStars	25	(2)
1999	Kansas City Wizards	30	(4)
2001–2003	Los Angeles Galaxy	69	(7)
National team
1991–1998	United States	96	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Panayotis Alexander ("Alexi") Lalas (born June 1, 1970) is a retired American soccer player who played mostly as a defender for the United States national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He became the first modern-era American soccer player to play in the Italian Serie A.^[1]
Following his playing career, Lalas served as President and General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls and Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. He was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006.
He currently works as an analyst with ESPN and ABC Sports.

Contents 1 Personal life 2 Playing career 2.1 High school 2.2 College 2.3 Arsenal 2.4 Padova 2.5 MLS 2.6 National team 2.7 Amateur 3 Non-soccer playing careers 3.1 Broadcaster 3.2 Major League Soccer General manager 3.3 Musical career 3.4 "The Sitter with Alexi Lalas" 4 Honors 4.1 Los Angeles Galaxy 4.2 Rutgers 4.3 Individual

Personal life

Lalas was born in Birmingham, Michigan, United States, to a Greek father and an American mother. His father was a professor who later became the director of Greece's national observatory, while his mother is a writer and poet. His brother, Greg Lalas, played in MLS with the Tampa Bay Mutiny and is currently the editor-in-chief of MLSsoccer.com. Lalas is fluent in Spanish.^[2]

Playing career

High school

Lalas attended Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. While he did not begin playing soccer until he was eleven, he had honed his skills enough to be named the 1987 Michigan High School Player of the Year his senior year. In addition to playing soccer, he was a member and a captain of his state's high school state championship hockey team. Lalas was rated for the Ontario Hockey League Midget draft in 1987, however, was not selected.^[3]

College

Lalas attended Rutgers University where he played on the men’s soccer team from 1988 to 1991. During his four seasons at Rutgers, he led the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Final Four in 1989 and the National Championship Game in 1990.^[4] Lalas was named a third team All-American in 1989 and 1990. In 1991, he gained first team All American recognition and was selected for both the Hermann Trophy and the Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year award. As in high school, Lalas also played hockey in college, leading the team in scoring in 1989.^[5]

Arsenal

After college and the 1992 Olympics, Lalas trained with former Arsenal player Bob McNab in California. This led to a trial with Arsenal during the winter of 1992. It was determined that Lalas did not have the quality for a first team spot, but did train with and played for the Reserve team before being cut shortly after his arrival in North London. ^[6]

Padova

Following the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Lalas signed with Italian Serie A club Padova. While Lalas anchored the team’s defense and scored three goals off set pieces (including against AC Milan & Internazionale), Padova finished the 1994-1995 season at the bottom of the standings. Only after winning a relegation play off on June 10, 1995, did the team ensure its survival in the top ranks for the next season. On June 25, 1995, Major League Soccer (MLS) signed Lalas to play for one of the new league’s teams. While MLS had intended to begin playing in 1995, it had run into difficulties and so delayed the first season until 1996. In order to allow Lalas to maintain his match fitness, MLS loaned him back to Padova for the 1995-1996 season. Lalas last played for Padova in a home game against Lazio on February 25, 1996.

MLS

Prior to the inaugural Major League Soccer (MLS) draft in February 1996, the league allocated high profile players throughout the league’s ten teams. As part of this process, MLS placed Lalas with the New England Revolution. Lalas was a regular on the Revs backline during the 1996 and 1997 seasons. In November 1997, the Revolution loaned Lalas to Ecuadorian First Division Club Emelec for a month. He returned to New England at the end of December only to find himself traded to the MetroStars on February 4, 1998. He spent the 1998 season with the MetroStars before being traded, along with Tony Meola, to the Kansas City Wizards for Mark Chung and Mike Ammann on January 28, 1999. Lalas spent one season with the Wizards before announcing his retirement on October 10, 1999. Just over a year later, he returned to playing when he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy as a discovery player on January 14, 2001. Nearly three years later, he retired again, this time permanently, on January 12, 2004.^[7]

National team

Lalas earned 96 caps, scoring nine goals, with the U.S. National Team between 1991 and 1998. His first cap came in a 2-2 tie with Mexico on March 12, 1991 in the 1991 NAFC Championship.^[8] He gained his second cap four days later in a 2-0 win over Canada. While he started both games, he did not gain another cap until he came on for Fernando Clavijo in a 2-2 tie with Denmark on January 30, 1993. His next game, a start, came on March 23, 1993 in a 2-2 tie with El Salvador. While he became a fixture on the team through the rest of 1993, he did not cement his position as a starter in the U.S. central defense until the beginning of 1994. He went on to start and play all ninety minutes in the four U.S. games of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was named an honorable mention All-Star. On June 11, 1995, Lalas flew directly from a relegation playoff game with his club team, Padova, in order to appear in the second half of a 1995 U.S. Cup victory over Nigeria.^[9] His contributions to the national team led to his selection as the 1995 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. While Lalas was on the roster for the U.S. at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he never entered a game.^[10] His last cap had come in the final U.S. tuneup for the finals, a May 30, 1998 scoreless tie with Scotland where he was a second half substitute for Earnie Stewart.

[show]Alexi Lalas international goals

Amateur

Lalas is currently a part-time player for Hollywood United F.C., an American soccer club based in Southern California, primarily made up of celebrities and former pro players.
Lalas was selected as one of three overage players on the U.S. Olympic teams at both the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.

Non-soccer playing careers

Broadcaster

During his sabbatical from soccer in 2000, he was a commentator for soccer matches on NBC during the 2000 Summer Olympics and co-hosted ESPN2's MLS Extratime. He also performed in-studio analysis for ESPN and ABC Sports coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In addition, he provided color commentary for San Jose Earthquakes television broadcasts.

Major League Soccer General manager

After his retirement from playing soccer in 2003, Lalas took a job as the general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes, franchise owned at the time by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). In 2005, he got transferred within the AEG organization as a reward for trading the rights to Landon Donovan's contract, becoming the president and GM of the MetroStars. Lalas oversaw the club's transition to Red Bull New York, as AEG sold the club to the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH.
In April 2006, he resigned from that position to take over the Galaxy, also owned by AEG. During his Galaxy GM tenure, Lalas was one of the individuals who was given credit for bringing soccer superstar David Beckham to the Galaxy's roster. On August 11, 2008 Lalas was fired as Galaxy GM.

Musical career

Lalas was a lead member (guitars, vocals) for the rock band Gypsies, releasing two albums Woodland and Jet Lag. "Woodland" featured the single "Kicking Balls"--which was used in the soundtrack for the movie "The Big Green". The Gypsies were the opening act for eight performances of Hootie & the Blowfish during their 1998 European tour. Also in 1998, Lalas released his solo album Ginger and his single Goodnight Moon on the CMC International records label. Since the release of Ginger, Lalas has released three solo albums—the most recent, a downloadable only album called So It Goes in September 2010.

"The Sitter with Alexi Lalas"

Debuting in the 2009 season, Lalas has a weekly video segment in which he gives color commentary on the happenings around MLS. The segments are brief (2–3 minutes) and discuss all matter of content from league officiating to Lalas' musings of "if he ruled the game". All episodes are streamed directly from the league's website, MLSnet.com, and can be found in the "Exclusives" section. Episodes include:

• Episode 1: "Seattle"
• Episode 2: "Rapid-fire first impressions"
• Episode 3: "Lacking quality in defenders"
• Episode 4: "The lure of playing abroad"
• Episode 5: "Where have all the cowboys gone?"
• Episode 6: "Diving"
• Episode 7: "Coach's challenge"
• Episode 8: "If I ruled the game"
• Episode 9: "Go wide, young men"

Honors

Los Angeles Galaxy

• CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2000
• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: 2001
• MLS Cup: 2002
• MLS Supporters' Shield: 2002

Rutgers

• Hermann Trophy: 1991
• Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year: 1991

Individual

• Honda Player of the Year: 1995
• U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 1995
• MLS Best XI: 2002

Career statistics

^[11]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
USA			League		Open Cup		League Cup		North America		Total
1996	New England Revolution	Major League Soccer	25	1
1997			30	2
1998	MetroStars	Major League Soccer	25	2
1999	Kansas City Wizards	Major League Soccer	30	4
2001	Los Angeles Galaxy	Major League Soccer	11	2
2002			26	4
2003			22	1
Total	USA		169	16
Career total			169	16

Osama bin Laden documents released: trove from Al-Qaida leader’s compound declassified

Bin Laden (AP/File)

A selection from more than 6,000 pages documents seized during the May 1, 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden were released on Thursday by West Point's Combating Terrorism Center, giving the public a rare glimpse into the Al-Qaida leader's terror plans and largely solitary life.
A total of 17 documents totaling 175 pages--uncovered from bin Laden's Abbottabad compound by U.S. forces.--were released by the CDC. Both the Arabic originals and versions translated and summarized in English were posted on the center's website shortly before 9 a.m. ET.

The earliest letter is dated September 2006 and the latest April 2011, the CDC said. The internal communications were authored by several al-Qaida leaders, including bin Laden, Atiyya Abd al-Rahman, Abu Yahya al-Libi and Adam Gadahn, the terror group's American spokesman.

Given that the electronic documents were "saved on thumb drives, memory cards or the hard drive of Bin Laden's computer," the CDC noted, it's unclear whether any of these letters reached their intended destinations.

As was previously reported, the documents show that bin Laden had ordered the assassinations of President Barack Obama and U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, but did not have the resources to carry out the killings.

"Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make [Vice President Joe] Biden take over the presidency," Bin Laden wrote in a message to one of his top lieutenants, the Washington Post noted. "Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis."

"Bin Laden would come up with an idea but it was a very broad aspirational idea," an administration official told NBC ahead of the West Point release. "And then he'd turn it over to somebody and there was always some sort of disconnect."

By the end of 2010, the official added, "there was certainly a sense of loss in terms of the senior leaders that perished, a sense that the midlevel cadre had been decimated."

Bobbi Kristina, Bobby Brown Reunite for Lunch in NYC

Bobbi Kristina Brown and Bobby Brown had some father-daughter time in the Big Apple on Tuesday -- and the late Whitney Houston's daughter and ex-husband didn't exactly pick a low-profile spot for their reunion.

A witness tells Us Weekly exclusively that Bobbi Kristina, 19, and her R&B singer dad, 43, had lunch at Blue Fin, located in the heart of Times Square.
PHOTOS: Whitney and Bobby's family album with Bobbi Kristina
The somewhat estranged twomsome were joined by Brown's longtime girlfriend, Alicia Etheridge and three other unidentified pals.
The group's Blue Fin lunch lasted about an hour and a half and, according to the witness, Bobbi Kristina "was on her phone and texting a crazy amount. She didn't seem too thrilled to be there, in all honesty."
PHOTOS: Whitney Houston, 1963-2012
Bobbi Kristina -- who briefly checked into the hospital following her mother's shocking Feb. 11 death at age 48 -- has kept a fairly low profile in the past month.
Appearing calm in a March interview with Oprah Winfrey, she said "I'm doing as good as I possibly can at this point. I'm just trying to keep going. . . I feel [my mom] pass through me all the time. I wake up at night."
She raised eyebrows later that month, when she stepped out holding hands with and kissing Nick Gordon, whom Houston informally adopted when he was just 12 year old. A source told Us the pair have been "living like a couple" in Atlanta.
VIDEO: Whitney's highs and lows
"Bobbi Kristina is still so vulnerable since her mother passed away," the source added. "But Nick has become like her rock."
Her dad, Bobby Brown, meanwhile, was charged with a DUI in late March and faces up to six months in jail if convicted. He famously broke down in tears performing in concert hours after his ex-wife's death shocked the world.
This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Bobbi Kristina, Bobby Brown Reunite for Lunch in NYC

Osama bin Laden death anniversary: 10 things we’ve learned about terror leader since raid

  
One year ago today, on May 1, 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in a daring raid on his compound near Islamabad, Pakistan. Through thousands of documents seized during the assault—many of them slated to be declassified later this week—we've learned a lot about the terror leader since his death.
He wanted to kill President Obama
According to the trove of documents uncovered by U.S. forces, bin Laden "regularly ordered his subordinates to plan new attacks, including assassinations of President Barack Obama and Gen. David Petraeus," NBC News reported.
According to the Washington Post, bin Laden wanted to kill Obama, in part, because he felt Vice President Joe Biden was "unprepared" to step in as commander in chief. Bin Laden's planned assassination of Obama involved hijacking Air Force One, the Post said.
"Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make Biden take over the presidency," Bin Laden wrote in a message to one of his top lieutenants, the paper said. "Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis." And all of this, despite an "increasingly limited cadre of operatives capable of carrying out such attacks."
He fantasized about blowing up oil tankers
In 2010, bin Laden wanted to hijack oil tankers and blow them up at sea, "creating explosions he hoped would rattle the world's economy and send oil prices skyrocketing," U.S. officials said shortly after his killing. While they concluded it was merely a "fantasy," the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security nonetheless issued warnings to commercial oil companies.
He was a hoarder
According to NBC chief pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski, Navy SEALs who carried out the raid on his Abbottabad compound recovered "five computers, 10 hard drives and more than 100 storage devices—DVDs, discs and thumb drives—that included between 10,000 and 15,000 documents and between 15,000 to 25,000 videos" inside. But a lot of them were duplicates, and many amounted to home videos, documenting "life around the compound ... chickens and cows, rabbits and dogs."
He had an 'extensive' porn collection
In the fallout following bin Laden's death, it was revealed that the terror leader had a stash of pornography in his hideout in Abbottabad when Navy SEALs killed him. U.S. officials told Reuters the pornography recovered in bin Laden's compound consisted "of modern, electronically recorded video" and was "fairly extensive."
"The officials said they were not yet sure precisely where in the compound the pornography was discovered or who had been viewing it," Reuters said, noting that the compound had been cut off from access to Internet and Wi-Fi networks. "It is unclear how compound residents would have acquired the pornography."
The White House Situation Room, May 1, 2001. (Pete Souza/The White House)
He liked to watch himself
A video released by the Obama administration confiscated from the compound during the raid "showed bin Laden watching pictures of himself on a TV screen," Reuters reported, "indicating that the compound was equipped with video playback equipment."
He felt threatened by the Arab spring
An administration official told NBC News that Bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri—his right-hand man—saw the early 2011 uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa as a "danger" for the future of al-Qaida. "Governments that bin Laden and his followers had given up on overturning were 'toppling,' but 'the demonstrators were not expressing support for al-Qaida at all" and "not using al-Qaida themes," the official said.
He was largely isolated, and flailing
"What you get is that bin Laden would come up with an idea but it was a very broad aspirational idea," the official told NBC. "And then he'd turn it over to somebody and there was always some sort of disconnect." Bin Laden's subordinates would then have to explain how difficult his terror ideas would be to carry out, the official said.
By the end of 2010, the official added, "there was certainly a sense of loss in terms of the senior leaders that perished, a sense that the midlevel cadre had been decimated."
He was 'delusional'
Peter Bergen, CNN's national security analyst and author of "Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden," says the al-Qaida head had become "delusional"--a result of living in near-isolation. "He was out of touch after six years basically living in probably two rooms of his house," Bergen told Newsmax.com. "He's calling for attacks on America. The people in al-Qaida were saying, 'Well, you know, that's all very well, but we just don't have the resources to do that.' He was pushing for things that just weren't very plausible."
He was so depressed, he wanted to rename al-Qaida

Hunkered down in his Abbottabad compound, bin Laden anguished as al-Qaida suffered "disaster after disaster," encouraged its operatives to flee to areas "away from aircraft photography and bombardment" and even thought about changing the name of his notorious international terrorist network, John Brennan, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, said on Monday.

Bin Laden worried about recruiting terrorist talent as U.S. strikes killed some of his veterans, and "agreed that 'a large portion' of Muslims around the world 'have lost their trust' in al-Qaida," Brennan said. "So damaged is al-Qaida's image that bin Laden even considered changing its name." Why? "As bin Laden said himself, U.S. officials have largely stopped using the phrase 'the war on terror' in the context of not wanting to provoke Muslims."

"In short, Al Qaeda [was] losing, badly," Brennan said. "And Bin Laden knew it."

He was nonetheless the last word on terror

Ultimately, everything went through Osama bin Laden, the official told NBC, in part because of his charisma: "He weighed in on a lot of issues. They tended to seek his guidance on a lot of things and clearly would wait until he got back to them."