Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin laden wanted to re-brand his group to identify it more closely with Islam as he was frustrated over its portrayal as a global terror outfit months before he was killed by US special forces in a covert raid in Pakistan, the White House has said. “He (Bin laden) even contemplated, in those writings, changing the name of Al-Qaeda to try to more closely identify it with Islam,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, referring to the treasure trove of information recovered from the Abbottabad hide out of the Al-Qaeda leader.
“He felt like that would be helpful to their flagging recruiting efforts. That is an indication that our efforts to be crystal-clear about what it is that we’re fighting and what we’re not has not just been successful, but actually frustrated the efforts of our enemies,” Earnest said.