Bin Laden 'ranting,' al-Qaida splintered

LONDON, June 19 (UPI) -- Slain al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was a "ranting chief executive" of a splintering terror network, officials who examined intel found at his compound said.

Bin Laden argued with his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and was obsessed with dreaming up dramatic and spectacular attacks in attempt to bring Western economies down, intelligence officials who examined documents -- including a handwritten journal, five computers, 10 hard drives and 110 thumb drives -- found at bin Laden's Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound told Britain's The Telegraph newspaper.

Bin Laden was like a "ranting chief executive on the top floor" of an organization whose structure was so unsound that it was unclear if anyone was listening to him. The intelligence paints a picture of an al-Qaida that is well-funded, hierarchical and bureaucratic, the officials said.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian, was promoted to al-Qaida's No. 1 six weeks after bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs May 2.