Bin Laden struggled to control al Qaeda

Documents released today suggest that just before his death, Osama bin Laden was struggling to stay in control of al Qaeda.

US officials have released 17 letters of the thousands of documents taken from his compound in Pakistan the day he was killed, a year ago.

US correspondent Richard Arnold says bin Laden didn't think much of his deputy, and called a terrorist magazine "tasteless".

"Also bin Laden was not informed in advance of the attempt to bomb Times Square in 2010 and he complained about that to the Pakistani Taliban."

Mr Arnold says Osama bin Laden also wanted al Qaeda to kill Barack Obama, but felt vice president Joe Biden should be spared because he was totally unprepared for the presidency and would lead the United States into a crisis.

International terror expert Peter Neumann says the documents reveal tensions and leadership struggles within al Qaeda.

"If anything it shows that al Qaeda in the future will be more diversified, less centralised and probably consist of a lot of small groups that are operating more or less autonomously."

Photo: Osama bin Laden (YouTube)