Ayman al-Zawahiri (President McCain)

Dr. Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri (Arabic: أيمن محمد ربيع الظواهري‎, the last name also sometimes being transliterated al-Dhawahiri to reflect normative classical Arabic pronunciation beginning with [ðˤ], born June 19, 1951) was a prominent leader of al-Qaeda, and was the second and last "emir" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded 'Abbud al-Zummar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zummar to life imprisonment. Al-Zawahiri was a qualified surgeon, and is an author of works including numerous al-Qaeda statements. He spoke Arabic and English. Al-Zawahiri was under worldwide embargo by the UN 1267 Committee as a member or affiliate of al-Qaeda until his death in 2001.

In 1998 al-Zawahiri formally merged Egyptian Islamic Jihad into al-Qaeda. According to reports by a former al-Qaeda member, he has worked in the al-Qaeda organization since its inception and was a senior member of the group's shura council. He was often described as a "lieutenant" to Osama bin Laden, though bin Laden's chosen biographer was referred to him as the "real brains" of al-Qaeda. After the success of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks in November 2001 he was killed in a firefight with U.S forces in Tora Bora Afghanistan after the invasion NATO led invasion.