4.1 Osama bin Laden
Al-Qaida (the Foundation) is the Arabic name for an Islamist terrorist organization that is involved in terrorist plots around the world. Osama bin Laden created al-Qaida in 1988 to expand the resistance movement against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan into a pan-Islamic resistance movement. Al-Qaida, the terrorist group, is led by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.
When the defeated Russians left Afghanistan in 1989, Osama bin Laden left too for an unknown reason. Saudi Arabia was not pleased with him for criticising the decision to accept American soldiers on its soil and, later on, to allow the USA to use Saudi Arabia as the main military base in the war to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion. Saudi Arabia deprived him of his nationality. Osama found a safe refuge in Sudan, a country ruled by fundamentalist Muslims. It is not clear what he did in Sudan, but it is believed that he resumed his career as an entrepreneur, and made more money.
Sudan expelled Osama bin Laden in 1996, the real reason is also unknown. A powerful Afghan local military commander, who died a short time later, invited him. He flew to Jalalabad in May 1996 with his three wives, thirteen children, and many Arab militants and bodyguards. In Afghanistan, bin Laden built an autonomous, multinational army of religious warriors ready to die for Islam. To them, Jihad, the Holy War against the "infidel", was something imposed by the Koran. They believed that dying in such a war would insure them a place in Heaven where seventy virgins would be waiting for each martyr.
Osama bin Laden has been accused to have masterminded the destruction of the American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar-el-Salaam, Tanganyika, in which about 212 people died, including twelve Americans. His organisation, al Qaida, is also thought to be responsible for the explosion at an American military base in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that killed 5 Marines in November 1995. More recently a suicide attack on the USS Cole navy ship in Yemen in October 2000 killed 17 sailors and injured 39. All this shows that the curriculum vitae of Osama bin Laden is impressive. He was well known to the American security agencies such as CIA, FBI, and all the similar military organisations. One must wonder why they were not able, if not to prevent, but at least to foresee, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
It is generally believed that bin Laden crossed the border into Pakistan when the Taliban regime collapsed in late 2001; there he was said to be hiding, protected by some autonomous tribes close to the Taliban. The government of Pakistan assured the US that they would prohibit entry on their territory to the Taliban and al-Qaida fighters, and above all their leaders. It is a well-known fact that some Pakistani military leaders were pro-Taliban and could perhaps still protect bin Laden.
The Americans are convinced that bin Laden was in the Tora Bora caves at least until early December 2001, but they do not know for certain if he was killed during the bombing, or if he escaped, possibly to Pakistan. From time to time they repeat, without giving any evidence for it, that bin Laden had been killed in an air attack in the eastern part of Afghanistan in early February 2002. The human remains of a tall man have been found, and the Osama bin Laden's family has been asked to provide DNA samples to try to identify the corpse. Until now the family has refused to cooperate. Canadian soldiers have also been looking for the body of Osama bin Laden in the Tora Bora range of mountains, but without success and the fate of the al-Qaida leader remain unknown.
At the end of September 2002, we were told that Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban leader, are both alive and in Afghanistan. A satellite telephone conversation assumed to be between the two men was intercepted. Moreover, Suleiman Abu Ghaith sent an audiotape to the al-Jazeera television, al-Qaida's usual communication channel, in which he said that Osama bin Laden was alive on June 20, 2002, willing and ready to launch other terrorist attacks on the USA. Suleiman also claimed that 98% of the al-Qaida leadership was safe and ready to strike again, as they did in a synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia, in April 2002 killing 21 people. Now in 2002, with Osama bin Laden most probably alive and threatening more attacks, some members of the US Congress are wondering if the USA is loosing the war on terror.
On December 15, 2003, the US had been chasing Osama bin Laden without success for over two years after he went into hiding at a cost of over $20bn. It is generally admitted that he was still hiding in the caves of Tora Bora in December 2001 with hundred of his fighters. He left when the bombing increased to hide in the "northern tribal areas" of Pakistan together with his deputy, the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri. Quite a few times the US and Pakistani troops thought that they had found him, but each time they were wrong. He is, obviously, well organised and protected. He could be hiding in a cave in the mountains or enjoying the hospitality of a local tribesman.
On February 29, 2004, we were told that the US is stepping up the hunt for Osama bin Laden who is believed to be hiding at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Task 121, a team of special forces and CIA officers, is in charge of the operation; Pakistani soldiers are participating in the search on their side of the border where the local population is Pashtun, and as such friend of the Taliban and bin Laden.
Many messages attributed to Osama bin Laden have been broadcasted, mainly
by the Arab television networks al-Jazeera and al-Arabyia. They can be summarised
as follow:
- In November 2002, in a first audiotape Osama bin Laden praised the martyrs
who bombed the synagogue in Djerba (Tunisia) and a nightclub in Bali (Indonesia)
attacked the French tanker Limburg in Yemen, and who took hostages in Moscow.
In it he also said that more attacks will take place, and that many Americans
and their allies will be killed. The US Intelligence Services confirmed
that the voice was from Osama bin Laden, and that the recording was recent.
More important that the content, the tape shows that bin Laden is still
alive, and that the Americans failed to kill him in bombing the mountains
of Tora Bora.
- A written message attributed to Osama bin Laden was sent to the London
Arab newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat" about January 20, 2003. In it
bin Laden urges the Arab countries to stop fighting each other, and unite
against the "Crusader Coalition" that is attacking the Islamic
world.
- On February 12, 2003, Osama bin Laden sent another audio message. In it
he gave the Iraqis advices on how to defeat the USA; suicide attacks were
his priorities. Is this a sufficient proof of the link between al-Qaida
and Iraq? Not at all. They forgot to listen to the whole message, or they
did not want to understand, when he said that "He could not care less
about the socialist Iraqi government, the Infidel Saddam Hussein, and that
all he cared about were the Muslim Iraqi people."
- On May 21, 2003, the Arab satellite network al-Jazeera broadcasted a tape
from Osama bin Laden's top aide, Ayman al-Zawahiri. In it, Zawahiri urged
the Muslims to attack the American, British, and Jewish interests. This
message came as the USA was raising its alert to the highest level, and
Saudi Arabia announced that it had arrested three men accused of planning
to highjack a plane to crash it on Jeddah.
- On August 3, 2003, Osama bin Laden's deputy, the Egyptian doctor Ayman
al-Zawahiri, the founder of the Egyptian militant group Islamic Jihad, warned
that the USA would pay a high price if they harmed any of the al-Qaida prisoners
held at Guantanamo Bay.
- On September 7, 2003, a tape by Osama bin Laden's spokesman, Abu Abd al-Rahman
al-Najdi, was released by al-Arabiya satellite television network; in it
he threatened new devastating attacks inside and outside America. He added
that al-Qaida had more members now that before September 11, 2001, and that
the new attacks will be more devastating. The speaker denied al-Qaida's
responsibility in the bombing of the Mosque in Najaf, Iraq, that killed
Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim, and more than 100 of his followers.
- On September 10, 2003, a videotape showed Osama bin Laden and his deputy,
Ayman al-Zawahiri. Osama bin Laden appears in good shape two years after
the September 11 2001 events. On the sound track, Zawahiri exhorted the
Iraqis to rise and fight against the occupying forces, describing Bush and
Blair as "top criminals". He added that what al-Qaida has done
until now is only the beginning, and that the real battles have not started
yet. Bin Laden also praised the September 11 hijackers for their attack
on the USA. However some experts believe that the tape is a collection of
old footages and sound tracks that have already been seen and heard before.
- On October 18, 2003, Osama bin Laden threatened to send suicide bombers
to the USA, and to attack all the forces joining the US-led coalition in
Iraq.
- Also on October 18, 2003, in another message, Osama bin Laden threatened
to hit all the western countries that cooperate with the USA in Iraq that
is above all, Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Australia and
Italia. He also threatens the Islamic nations that do not participate at
the war against the USA.
- On November 16, 2003, the al-Qaida leader asked the Iraqis to launch a
holy war on the invading coalition forces.
- On December 19, 2003, an audiotape from Osama bin-Laden's deputy, Ayman
al-Zawahri, said that al-Qaida would target Americans in their homeland,
and would drive the US forces from their bases in the region. The CIA said
that it was probably authentic.
- On December 20 2003, a tape from Osama bin Laden was broadcasted. Experts
believe that the same tape had been broadcasted in October. The CIA confirmed
the information.
- On January 4, 2004, a new tape from Osama bin Laden urged the Muslims
to continue fighting a holy war in Iraq and the Middle East, and to refuse
to participate in the peace efforts. On January 5, the CIA said that the
tape was authentic.
- On February 24, 2004, a tape from Ayman al-Zawahri threatened more attacks
on the USA and criticised France for imposing a ban on Islamic headscarves
in schools.
- On March 25, 2004, a tape from Ayman al-Zawahiri, urged the Pakistanis,
to overthrow their government that is working for the Americans, and to
denounce their president, Pervez Musharraf as a traitor.
- On April 15, 2004, in an audiotape from Osama bin-Laden (the CIA later
confirmed that it was authentic) offered a truce to the European countries
that will stop killing Muslims and pulled their troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan
within three months. The offer does not apply to the USA. With it bin-Laden
is trying to drive a wedge between the Europeans and the USA. This, obviously,
was unacceptable and all the European countries involved -including France,
Spain and Germany- rejected it refusing, as they should, any negotiation
with the al-Qaida terrorists and their leader.
- On May 7, 2004, Osama bin Laden released a new message through the Internet
offering reward of 10 kg of gold to anybody who kills the UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan, the top UN envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi, or Paul Bremer. He
is also offering one kilo of gold to anyone who kill a soldier or civilian
from any country having a veto at The UN Security Council (USA, Britain,
China, Russia, France) and half a kilo for killing citizens of US allies
such as Italy and Japan. The UN immediately reinforced the security around
its top people. Bin Laden described the handing over of sovereignty to an
interim Iraqi government on June 30 as an American ploy to stop the killing
of its soldiers, adding that there is no possible sovereignty as long as
the crusaders remain into Iraq, and as long as Islam does not rule the country.
He asked Iraqis to fight against the members of the Iraqi Governing Council,
and threatened any Iraqi working for the coalition.
Osama bin Laden appeared four times on television during the war in Afghanistan.
Three times his videotapes were broadcasted by the Arab television network
al-Jazeera from Qatar. The US Government released the fourth tape; it was
apparently found in Kabul in a house belonging to a Taliban. President Bush
described the tapes released by bin Laden to al-Jazeera as propaganda, while
the Arab World described the last one as a fake.