INTERVIEW OF USAMA BIN LADIN BY JOHN MILLER - May 1998

http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/dailynews/terror_980609.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/interview.html

In the first part of this interview which occurred in May 1998, a little over two months before the U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, Osama bin Laden answers questions posed to him by some of his followers at his mountaintop camp in southern Afghanistan. In the latter part of the interview, ABC reporter John Miller is asking the questions.

Read the translation of the ABC John Miller interview (videotaped) which is further down on this page. Or, read the full interview with Bin Laden which starts with questions posed to him by his followers. This interview begins right here; it is then followed by the translation of the Miller interview with Bin Laden.

... What is the meaning of your call for Muslims to take arms against America in particular, and what is the message that you wish to send to the West in general?

The call to wage war against America was made because America has spear-headed the crusade against the Islamic nation, sending tens of thousands of its troops to the land of the two Holy Mosques over and above its meddling in its affairs and its politics, and its support of the oppressive, corrupt and tyrannical regime that is in control. These are the reasons behind the singling out of America as a target. And not exempt of responsibility are those Western regimes whose presence in the region offers support to the American troops there. We know at least one reason behind the symbolic participation of the Western forces and that is to support the Jewish and Zionist plans for expansion of what is called the Great Israel. Surely, their presence is not out of concern over their interests in the region. ... Their presence has no meaning save one and that is to offer support to the Jews in Palestine who are in need of their Christian brothers to achieve full control over the Arab Peninsula which they intend to make an important part of the so called Greater Israel. ...

Many of the Arabic as well as the Western mass media accuse you of terrorism and of supporting terrorism. What do you have to say to that?

There is an Arabic proverb that says "she accused me of having her malady, then snuck away." Besides, terrorism can be commendable and it can be reprehensible. Terrifying an innocent person and terrorizing him is objectionable and unjust, also unjustly terrorizing people is not right. Whereas, terrorizing oppressors and criminals and thieves and robbers is necessary for the safety of people and for the protection of their property. There is no doubt in this. Every state and every civilization and culture has to resort to terrorism under certain circumstances for the purpose of abolishing tyranny and corruption. Every country in the world has its own security system and its own security forces, its own police and its own army. They are all designed to terrorize whoever even contemplates to attack that country or its citizens. The terrorism we practice is of the commendable kind for it is directed at the tyrants and the aggressors and the enemies of Allah, the tyrants, the traitors who commit acts of treason against their own countries and their own faith and their own prophet and their own nation. Terrorizing those and punishing them are necessary measures to straighten things and to make them right. Tyrants and oppressors who subject the Arab nation to aggression ought to be punished. The wrongs and the crimes committed against the Muslim nation are far greater than can be covered by this interview. America heads the list of aggressors against Muslims. The recurrence of aggression against Muslims everywhere is proof enough. For over half a century, Muslims in Palestine have been slaughtered and assaulted and robbed of their honor and of their property. Their houses have been blasted, their crops destroyed. And the strange thing is that any act on their part to avenge themselves or to lift the injustice befalling them causes great agitation in the United Nations which hastens to call for an emergency meeting only to convict the victim and to censure the wronged and the tyrannized whose children have been killed and whose crops have been destroyed and whose farms have been pulverized. ..

In today's wars, there are no morals, and it is clear that mankind has descended to the lowest degrees of decadence and oppression. They rip us of our wealth and of our resources and of our oil. Our religion is under attack. They kill and murder our brothers. They compromise our honor and our dignity and dare we utter a single word of protest against the injustice, we are called terrorists. This is compounded injustice. And the United Nations insistence to convict the victims and support the aggressors constitutes a serious precedence which shows the extent of injustice that has been allowed to take root in this land. ...

What is your relationship with the Islamic movements in various regions of the world like Chechnya and Kashmir and other Arab countries?

Cooperation for the sake of truth and righteousness is demanded from Muslims. A Muslim should do his utmost to cooperate with his fellow Muslims. But Allah says of cooperation that it is not absolute for there is cooperation to do good, and there is cooperation to commit aggression and act unjustly. A Muslim is supposed to give his fellow Muslim guidance and support. He (Allah) said "Stand by your brother be he oppressor or oppressed." When asked how were they to stand by him if he were the oppressor, He answered them, saying "by giving him guidance and counsel." It all goes to say that Muslims should cooperate with one another and should be supportive of one another, and they should promote righteousness and mercy. They should all unite in the fight against polytheism and they should pool all their resources and their energy to fight the Americans and the Zionists and those with them. They should, however, avoid side fronts and rise over the small problems for these are less detrimental. Their fight should be directed against unbelief and unbelievers. 

We heard your message to the American government and later your message to the European governments who participated in the occupation of the Gulf. Is it possible for you to address the people of these countries?

As we have already said, our call is the call of Islam that was revealed to Mohammed. It is a call to all mankind. We have been entrusted with good cause to follow in the footsteps of the Messenger and to communicate his message to all nations. It is an invitation that we extend to all the nations to embrace Islam, the religion that calls for justice, mercy and fraternity among all nations, not differentiating between black and white or between red and yellow except with respect to their devotedness. All people who worship Allah, not each other, are equal before Him. We are entrusted to spread this message and to extend that call to all the people. We, nonetheless, fight against their governments and all those who approve of the injustice they practice against us. We fight the governments that are bent on attacking our religion and on stealing our wealth and on hurting our feelings. And as I have mentioned before, we fight them, and those who are part of their rule are judged in the same manner. ...

In your last statement, there was a strong message to the American government in particular. What message do you have for the European governments and the West in general?

Praise be Allah and prayers and peace upon Mohammed. With respect to the Western governments that participated in the attack on the land of the two Holy Mosques regarding it as ownerless, and in the siege against the Muslim people of Iraq, we have nothing new to add to the previous message. What prompted us to address the American government in particular is the fact that it is on the head of the Western and the crusading forces in their fight against Islam and against Muslims. The two explosions that took place in Riyadh and in Khobar recently were but a clear and powerful signal to the governments of the countries which willingly participated in the aggression against our countries and our lives and our sacrosanct symbols. It might be beneficial to mention that some of those countries have begun to move towards independence from the American government with respect to the enmity that it continues to show towards the Muslim people. We only hope that they will continue to move in that direction, away from the oppressive forces that are fighting against our countries. We however, differentiate between the western government and the people of the West. If the people have elected those governments in the latest elections, it is because they have fallen prey to the Western media which portray things contrary to what they really are. And while the slogans raised by those regimes call for humanity, justice, and peace, the behavior of their governments is completely the opposite. It is not enough for their people to show pain when they see our children being killed in Israeli raids launched by American planes, nor does this serve the purpose. What they ought to do is change their governments which attack our countries. The hostility that America continues to express against the Muslim people has given rise to feelings of animosity on the part of Muslims against America and against the West in general. Those feelings of animosity have produced a change in the behavior of some crushed and subdued groups who, instead of fighting the Americans inside the Muslim countries, went on to fight them inside the United States of America itself.

The Western regimes and the government of the United States of America bear the blame for what might happen. If their people do not wish to be harmed inside their very own countries, they should seek to elect governments that are truly representative of them and that can protect their interests. ...

The enmity between us and the Jews goes far back in time and is deep rooted. There is no question that war between the two of us is inevitable. For this reason it is not in the interest of Western governments to expose the interests of their people to all kinds of retaliation for almost nothing. It is hoped that people of those countries will initiate a positive move and force their governments not to act on behalf of other states and other sects. This is what we have to say and we pray to Allah to preserve the nation of Islam and to help them drive their enemies out of their land.

American politicians have painted a distorted picture of Islam, of Muslims and of Islamic fighters. We would like you to give us the true picture that clarifies your viewpoint ... .

The leaders in America and in other countries as well have fallen victim to Jewish Zionist blackmail. They have mobilized their people against Islam and against Muslims. These are portrayed in such a manner as to drive people to rally against them. The truth is that the whole Muslim world is the victim of international terrorism, engineered by America at the United Nations. We are a nation whose sacred symbols have been looted and whose wealth and resources have been plundered. It is normal for us to react against the forces that invade our land and occupy it ... .

Quite a number of Muslim countries have seen the rise of militant movements whose purpose is to stand up in the face of the pressure exerted on the people by their own governments and other governments. Such as is the case in Egypt and Libya and North Africa and Algiers and such as was the case in Syria and in Yemen. There are also other militant groups currently engaged in the fight against the unbelievers and the crusaders as is the case in Kashmir and Chechnya and Bosnia and the African horn. Is there any message you wish to convey to our brothers who are fighting in various parts of the Islamic World?

... Tell the Muslims everywhere that the vanguards of the warriors who are fighting the enemies of Islam belong to them and the young fighters are their sons. Tell them that the nation is bent on fighting the enemies of Islam. Once again, I have to stress the necessity of focusing on the Americans and the Jews for they represent the spearhead with which the members of our religion have been slaughtered. Any effort directed against America and the Jews yields positive and direct results - Allah willing. It is far better for anyone to kill a single American soldier than to squander his efforts on other activities. ...

John Miller's interview begins here.

John Miller: Mr. Bin Ladin, to Americans you are an interesting figure: A man who comes from a background of wealth and comforts who ended up fighting on the front lines. Many Americans would think that’s unusual.

Osama Bin Ladin: Thanks be to Allah. It is hard for one to understand if the person does not understand Islam. In our religion we believe that Allah created us to worship him. Allah is the one who created us and blessed us with this religion, and orders us to carry out the holy struggle “jihad” to raise the word of Allah above the words of the unbelievers. We believe this is a form of worship we must follow despite our financial ability. This is a response to Westerners and secularists in the Arab world who claim the reason for the awakening and the return to Islam is financial difficulties. This is untrue. In fact, the return of the people to Islam is a blessing from Allah, and their return is a need for Allah. This is not a strange issue. During the days of jihad, thousands of young men who were well off financially left the Arabian Peninsula and other areas and joined the fighting—hundreds of them were killed in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya. We pray Allah grants them martyr status.

John Miller: You have been described as the “World’s Most Wanted Man.” There is word that the American government intends to put a price on your head in the millions for your capture. Do you think about that? Does it worry you?

Osama Bin Ladin: Praise be to Allah. It does not worry us what the Americans think. What worries us is pleasing Allah. The Americans impose themselves on everyone who believes in his religion and his rights. They accuse our children in Palestine of being terrorists. Those children that have no weapons and have not even reached maturity. At the same time they defend a country with its airplanes and tanks, and the state of the Jews, that has a policy to destroy the future of these children. Clinton stands after Qana and defends the horrible massacre that severed the heads of children and killed about 100 persons. Clinton stands and claims Israel has the right to defend itself. We do not worry about American opinion, or the fact the place prices on our heads. We as Muslims believe that our fate is set. If the whole world decides to get together and kill us before our time has come, we will not die, our livelihood is set. No matter how much pressure America places on the regime in Riyadh to freeze our assets and to prevent people from contributing to this great cause, we rely on Allah.

John Miller: You have said, “If the Americans are so brave they will come and arrest me.” Do you think that is something my country will try?

Osama Bin Ladin: We have seen in the last decade the decline of the American government and the weakness of the American soldier who is ready to wage Cold Wars and unprepared to fight long wars. This was proven in Beirut when the Marines fled after two explosions. It also proves they can run in less than 24 hours, and this was also repeated in Somalia. We are ready for all occasions. We rely on Allah.

Fatwa Against Americans

John Miller: Mr. Bin Ladin, you have issued a fatwa calling on all Muslims to kill Americans where they can, when they can. Is that directed at all Americans, just American military, just Americans in Saudi Arabia?

Osama Bin Ladin: As we mentioned before, Allah ordered us in this religion to purify Muslim land of all non-believers, and especially the Arabian Peninsula where the Ke’ba is. After WWII, the Americans became more aggressive and oppressive, especially in the Muslim world.
     We are surprised this question is coming from Americans. Each action will solicit a similar reaction. We must use such punishment to keep your evil away from Muslims, Muslim children and women. American history does not distinguish between civilians and military, and not even women and children. They are the ones who used the bombs against Nagasaki. Can these bombs distinguish between infants and military? America does not have a religion that will prevent it from destroying all people. Your situation with Muslims in Palestine is shameful, if there is any shame left in America. In the Sabra and Shatilla massacre, a cooperation between Zionist and Christian forces, houses were demolished over the heads of children. Also, by testimony of relief workers in Iraq, the American led sanctions resulted in the death of over 1 million Iraqi children. All of this was done in the name of American interests. We believe that the biggest thieves in the world and the terrorists are the Americans. The only way for us to fend off these assaults is to use similar means. We do not differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and civilians; they are all targets in this fatwa. Especially since American officials were released after the Khobar bombing, asking all American civilians to contact the security department in the embassy with information on Muslims and activists. The fatwa includes all that share or take part in killing of Muslims, assaulting holy places, or those who help the Jews occupy Muslim land.

World Trade Center Bombing

John Miller: Ramzi Yousef was a follower. Do you remember him? Did you know him?

Osama Bin Ladin: Ramzi Yousef, after the World Trade Center bombing became a well known Muslim personality, and all Muslims know him. Unfortunately, I did not know him before the incident. I remember him as a Muslim who defended Islam from American aggression. He took this effort to let the Americans know that their government assaults Muslims to insure Israeli interest, to insure Jews.  American will see many youths who will follow Ramzi Yousef.

John Miller: Is it true that when Ramzi Yousef was captured, he was in a guesthouse that you were paying for?

Osama Bin Ladin: What was broadcast in the news and what we learned is that he was captured in Pakistan in a hotel.

Plot to Kill the President
John Miller: Wali Khan Amin Shah was captured in Manila. American authorities believed he was working for you, funded by you, setting up training camps there and that part of his plan was to plan the assassination of President Clinton during his trip to Manila.

Osama Bin Ladin: Wali Khan is a Muslim youth. In Afghanistan, he is nicknamed “The Lion.” He is one of the best youths. We were good friends. We fought together in the same trench against the Russians until Allah sent them away in humiliating defeat. You mentioned that he works for me—we do not have anyone who works for someone else. We all work for Allah and await his reward. And regarding your mention of his attempt to assassinate President Clinton, it is not surprising. I did not know about it, but it is not surprising.  As I said, every action solicits a similar reaction. What does Clinton expect from those whom he killed and assaulted their children and mothers? This is not a surprising matter.

John Miller: Federal Authorities in The United States are still investigating their suspicion that you ordered and funded the attacks on the United States military in El Khohar and Riyadh.

Osama Bin Ladin: We roused the people, the Muslims, and carried fatwas from our Ulima after the Saudi government imprisoned them to placate the American government. The most prominent are Dhekh Salman ben Fahd al-Odeh, Safad ben Abdel Rahman el Awli.  So we carried these fatwas and roused the people to eject this enemy from the holy land, some of the people listened, from among them, Khaled el-Sa’eed, Abdel Azziz el Me’them, Hamood al Hajery and Misleh el Samray. We pray Allah grants them martyr status. They have raised the head of the Muslim nation high, and washed away some of the dishonor we had to bear by the Saudi government’s collaboration with the American government in the land of Allah. We look at these young men as great heroes and martyrs who followed the steps of the prophet peace upon him. We called and they answered. We pray to Allah to accept them and bless their parents with patience.

John Miller: You have been painted in America as a terrorist leader. To your followers you are a hero. How do you see yourself?

Osama Bin Ladin: As I said before, we do not worry about what America says. We look at ourselves and our brethren as worshipers of Allah who created us to worship him and follow his books and prophets. I am one of Allah’s worshipers. I worship Allah, which includes carrying out the jihad to raise Allah’s word and evict the Americans from all Muslim land.

Desire to Destroy the U.S.
John Miller: No one expected the mujahideen to defeat the Russians in Afghanistan that caused a surprise to everyone. What do you see as the future for the American involvement in the Middle East and taking on groups like yours?

Osama Bin Ladin: NATO, that America created, we know it spent $455 billion American dollars in improving weaponry to protect Europe and America from Russia, and they did not fire a single shot. Allah stood with the Muslims, the Afghani mujahideen, and those who fought with them from other Muslim countries. We fought against the Russians and the Soviet Union until, not to say we defeated them, but Allah defeated them, they became non-existent. There is a lesson to learn from this for he who wishes to learn.  The Soviet Union entered in the last week of 1979, in December, and with Allah’s help their flag was folded December 25 a few years later and thrown in the trash, and there was nothing left to call Soviet Union.  We are sure of Allah’s victory and our victory against the Americans and the Jews as promised by the prophet peace be up on him: “Judgment day shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews, whereas the Jews will hide behind trees and stones, and the tree and the stone will speak and say ‘Muslim, behind me a Jew come and kill him’, except for the al-Ghargad tree, which is a Jewish plant.”   We are sure of our victory. Our battle with the Americans is larger than our battle with the Russians. The Americans made a very stupid mistake that no one has made before. They attached the Muslim symbol, the Kibla, of 200 million people. The reaction was very encouraging by the Muslim scholars and the youth.  We predict a black day for America and the end of the United States as United States, and will be separate states, and will retreat from our land and collect the bodies of its sons back to America. Allah willing.

The Saudi Royal Family
John Miller: What do you see as the future of the Saudi Royal family and their involvement with America and United States military?

Osama Bin Ladin: History has an answer to your question. Any government that sells its peoples’ interests and betrays its people and takes actions that removes it from the Muslim nation will not succeed.

    We predict that the Riyadh leader and those with him that stood with the Jews and Christians and forfeited Al-Haramien, the holy shrines, to Jews and Christians with American identities or other will disintegrate. They have left the Muslim nation. We predict that like the Iran Royal family, the Shah, they will disperse and disappear. After Allah gave them property on the most sacred land and gave them wealth that is unheard of before from oil, still they sinned and did not value Allah’s gift. We predict destruction and dispersal after they in a great devastation against the Muslim nation, especially what happens to the Muslim people of Iraq.The prophet said, “A woman entered hell because of a cat. She did not feed it and blocked it from finding food on its own.” She is going to hell for blocking cat to death, but what say to those who agreed and gave reason for the hundreds of thousands of troops to blockade millions of Muslims in Iraq?

John Miller: Do you think the Saudi government wants the American military to stay?

Osama Bin Ladin: This does not a make a difference, since American opposition, aggression and greed still exists. They came by word of government. It does not make a difference if the government wants you to stay or leave, you will leave when the youth send you the wooden boxes and the coffins, and you will carry in it the bodies of American troops and civilians. This is when you will leave. The Muslim masses are moving towards liberating the Muslim worlds. Allah willing, we will win.

His Next Targets
John Miller: Describe the situation when your men took on the Americans in Somalia? Where you there?

Osama Bin Ladin: After Allah honored us with victory in Afghanistan, and justice prevailed and the killing of those who slaughtered millions of Muslims in the Muslim republics, it cleared from Muslim minds the myth of superpowers. The youth ceased from seeing America as a superpower. After leaving Afghanistan they headed for Somalia and prepared for a long battle, thinking that the Americans were like the Russians, but they were surprised when the Americans entered with 300,000 troops, and collected more troops from the world—5,000 from Pakistan, 5,000 from India, 5,000 from Bangladesh, 5,000 from Egypt, Senegal and others like Saudi Arabia. The youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers and realized more than before that the America soldiers are paper tigers. After a few blows, they ran in defeat and America forgot about all the hoopla and media propaganda after leaving the Gulf War and destroying infrastructure—and destroying baby formula factories, all civilian factories, bridges and dams that help planting food—about being the world leader, and the leader of the new world order. After a few blows, they forgot about this title and left, dragging their corpses and their shameful defeat and stopped using such titles. And they learned in America that this name is larger then them.  When this took place, I was in Sudan, and this great defeat pleased me very much, the way it pleases all Muslims. Allah willing the next victory will be in Hejaz and Najd, Saudi Arabia, and it will make the Americans forget the horrors of Vietnam and Beirut.

John Miller: Many Americans believe that fighting army to army like what happened in Afghanistan is heroic for either army, but setting off bombs killing civilians and innocents like the World Trade Center is terrorism.

Osama Bin Ladin: He is using talk that they are not following. After our victory in Afghanistan and defeating the Russians, the world media, lead by the American media, started a campaign against us that is still going on today despite the fact that the Russians left in l989, almost 10 years ago. They have carried out this campaign accusing us of being terrorists without any action being taken by the mujahideen against the real terrorists, the Americans. That is one side.   On the other side, American policy does not admit to differentiating between civilians, military, and child, human or animal. Examples I mentioned before are Nagasaki and Hiroshima where they tried to eliminate a whole people.   When it comes to Muslims, there is testimony from Westerners and Christians who testified to the death of hundreds of thousands of our children in Iraq. And there is Qana, Sabra and Shattila, Dir Yasin and Bosnia. The crusaders continued their slaughter of our mothers, sisters and children. America every time makes a decision to support them and prevent weapons from reaching the Muslims, and allow Serbian butchers to slaughter Muslims. You do not have a religion that prevents you from carrying out these actions and therefore you do not have the right to object to like treatment. Every action solicits a reaction. It is a punishment that fits the crime. At the same time, our primary target are military and those in its employment.  Our religion forbids us to kill innocents—children, women who are not combatants. Women soldiers who place themselves in the battle trenches receive the same treatment as fighting men.

Coordination of Global Terror
John Miller: Is there a high council of the leaders of different groups like yours that decides on ways and means to attack Americans?

Osama Bin Ladin: After the Americans entered the Holy Land, many emotions were roused in the Muslim world, more than we have seen before. A great meeting took a place a few days ago in Pakistan, and it was attended by 150 scholars in Pakistan. The goal of the meeting was to work toward liberating the Holy Land and coordinate efforts between Muslim masses in the area. Also, with Allah’s blessings, scholars from Afghanistan, India and other Muslim nations’ individual fatwas were passed, but here great joint fatwas were passed. The cooperation is expanding between general supporters of this religion. From this effort, the International Islamic Front for the Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders was formed, which we are a member of with other groups. It has a higher council to coordinate rousing the Muslim nation to carry out jihad against the Jews and the crusaders.

John Miller: The American People by the large do not know the name Osama Bin Ladin, but they soon will. Do you have a message to the American people?

Osama Bin Ladin: I say that the American people gave leadership to a traitorous leadership. This became very clear and especially in Clinton’s government. The American government, we think, is an agent that represents the Israel inside America. If we look at sensitive departments in the present government like the defense department or the state department, or sensitive security departments like the CIA and others, we find that Jews have the first word in the American government, which is how they use America to carry out their plans in the world and especially the Muslim world. The presence of Americans in the Holy Land supports the Jews and gives them a safe back. The American government, in a time where there are millions of Americans living on the street and those living below the standard of living and below the poverty line, we find the American government turning toward helping Israel in occupying our land and building settlements in the Holy Land. The American government is throwing away the lives of Americans in Saudi Arabia for the interests of the Jews. The Jews are a people who Allah cited in his holy book the Koran as those who attacked prophets with lies and killings, and attacked Mary and accused her of a great sin. They are a people who killed Allah’s prophets—would they not kill, rape and steal from humans? They believe that all humans are created for their use, and found that the Americans are the best-created beings for that use. The American Government is driving America to destruction and those same ones have no doubts about America being a superpower in the next decade. So, we tell the American as a people, and we tell the mothers of soldiers, and American mothers in general, if they value their lives and those of their children, find a nationalistic government that will look after their interests and not the interest of the Jews. The continuation of the tyranny will bring the fighting to America, like Ramzi Yousef and others. This is my message to the American people to look for a serious government that looks out for their interest and does not attack others, their lands or their honor.

John Miller: Mr. Bin Ladin, these are most of the questions we came with. Is there anything else that I did not ask that you would like to add?

Osama Bin Ladin: We would like to stress that we are on close contact with Muslim masses, praise be to Allah. The issue of liberating Holy Lands is not my personal desire, but I am just a worshiper of Allah and one of Allah’s soldiers in the Muslim nation. The movement is driving fast and light forward. And I am sure of our victory with Allah’s help against America and the Jews. We see this then in the strength of the reaction, that every day the Americans delay their departure, for every day they delay, they will receive a new corpse from Muslim countries.The Saudi Arabian government captured a few months ago in Ramadan a number of missiles, anti aircraft missiles, SAM and stringer missiles. Can the America government explain to its people when a SAM missile is launched against a passenger military airplane with 250 soldiers abroad? Can they justify their deaths? What the Saudi Arabian government captured is much less than what was not captured. The American government, if it has anything left to hang on to, has no choice but to pull its sons from the Holy Land especially and the Muslim land in general. And to refrain from supporting in any way the Israeli government and Jews who occupy our land.

Relationship with Sheik Abdel Rahman
We place the complete responsibility on the American government of any attacks against Muslims and its support of regimes in our countries against the best interest of the people. We also hold them responsible for its attacks on Islamic symbols, Sheik Abdel Rahman, who is considered one of most prominent Islamic scholars who Allah gave the courage to speak the truth.  We hear that he is in a bad health condition, and he is a man beyond 60 years of age and is blind and America treats him badly. The imprisonment of Sheik Omar is an attack on the Muslim religion, and countries. We hold it completely responsible for the imprisonment of Sheik Omar and the imprisonment of other Muslims in America.  My word to American journalists is not to ask why we did that, but to ask what had their government done that forced us to defend ourselves?This is all I have to say.

John Miller: What are you going to do,just picking a word or two, did he by any chance mention the new fatwa issued by Abdel Rahman last week?

Osama Bin Ladin: No.

John Miller: I was wondering if you could tell me the story of the gun behind you and how you got it? It is a kind of a legend in many ways, that during the Afghan war you got it in hand-to-hand combat with Russians who were on a three day assault on the camp.

Osama Bin Ladin: We went through vicious battles with the Russians. It is enough to just say with Russians, the are known in the West for their brutality and viciousness. They used poisonous gas against us, and I was subjected to this. They used airplanes against our position, and we lost many fighters, but we were able to deter many commando attacks, unlike anything before.

John Miller: From history, in 1897, Teddy Roosevelt was a wealthy man who grew up in a privileged situation who fought on the frontline, put together his own team not from the army, handpicked his own men and went into battle. You are like the Middle East version of Teddy Roosevelt.

Osama Bin Ladin: We are worshipers of Allah and we carry out our duties. Our duty is to call on all nations to join the light. Our first duty is being people of this religion and to fight for this religion. Since we grew up, American weapons were on our heads and the heads of our children and mothers, like in Qana and others. The Westerners have been under the impression that we are butchers. They just only need to look at their brother in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Albania to see those who embraced Islam and lived happily with it for centuries. The Westem masses have fallen under the effect of Jewish media who do not broadcast on Muslims except that we butcher, and without showing that of number of those us who were butchered is the biggest number.  It is our duty to lead people to light.

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