Osama bin Laden 'plotting to relaunch al-Qaeda with new 9/11-style spectacular'

Osama bin Laden was plotting to relaunch al-Qaeda's campaign of terror on America with a "new phase" of jihad, including a 9/11-style spectacular and the assassination of President Barack Obama, documents seized from his hide-out show.Frustrated by a series of setbacks and a western world distracted by the economic crisis, the al-Qaeda chief wanted a sharply honed comeback, which is detailed across 175 pages of plans and memos sent between the top echelons of his terrorist network and released by the US yesterday.
To bring down the infidel "tree", bin Laden wanted disciples to "focus our saw on its American root", ignoring even its "British branch" to avoid wasting limited resources. He also called on lieutenants to abandon plans for moves into Iran and possibly scale back operations in Pakistan and Yemen.
"I plan to release a statement that we are starting a new phase to correct the mistakes we made," he said in a 2010 memo. "We shall reclaim, God willing, the trust of a large segment of those who lost their trust in the jihadis." He lamented the PR disaster of killing Muslim civilians.
Bin Laden, who was killed by US forces in a raid on his compound in Pakistan in May last year, had delegated plans for "a large operation in the US" by up to ten suicide bombers plucked from Gulf states to Atiyah al-Rahman, one of his senior commanders. Rahman was eventually also killed last year.
He also wanted to kill Mr Obama as the US president travelled in a plane. Bin Laden argued that the assassination would see an "utterly unprepared" Vice President Joe Biden elevated to the Oval Office and plunge the US into crisis. He also wanted jihadis to kill Gen David Petraeus, the then-commander of US forces in Afghanistan and "man of the moment".