Editing Osama bin Laden (section)

=== September 11 attacks ===
{{See also|September 11 attacks|Videos and audio recordings of Osama bin Laden}}{{blockquote|God knows it did not cross our minds to attack the Towers, but after the situation became unbearable—and we witnessed the injustice and tyranny of the American-Israeli alliance against our people in [[Palestine]] and Lebanon—I thought about it. And the events that affected me directly were that of 1982 and the events that followed—when America allowed the Israelis to invade Lebanon, helped by the [[US Sixth Fleet]]. As I watched the destroyed towers in Lebanon, it occurred to me punish the unjust the same way: to destroy towers in America so it could taste some of what we are tasting and to stop killing our children and women.|Osama bin Laden, 2004<ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/30/alqaida.september11 |title=God knows it did not cross our minds to attack the towers |date=30 October 2004 |work=The Guardian |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828091507/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/30/alqaida.september11 |archive-date=28 August 2013}}</ref>}}[[File:UA Flight 175 hits WTC south tower 9-11 edit.jpeg|thumb|[[United Airlines Flight 175]] crashes into the World Trade Center's [[South Tower (disambiguation)|South Tower]] on [[September 11 attacks|9/11]].]]U.S. president [[George W. Bush]] received an intelligence report on 6 August 2001, titled "[[Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US|Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.]]"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-11-13 |title=What the CIA knew before 9/11: New details |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/attacks-will-be-spectacular-cia-war-on-terror-bush-bin-laden/ |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB}}</ref> On 11 September 2001 (the "September 11 attacks" or "9/11"), the U.S. was attacked by al-Qaeda, who used four commercial airplanes as missiles against various targets. Two planes, [[American Airlines Flight 11]] and [[United Airlines Flight 175]], were crashed into the North and South Twin Towers of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in New York City. [[American Airlines Flight 77]] was crashed into the [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]]. [[United Airlines Flight 93]] did not reach its intended destination, as its passengers overtook the plane, which crashed in Pennsylvania. The Twin Towers eventually [[Collapse of the World Trade Center|collapsed]]. At least 2,750 people died from the attacks.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-06 |title=September 11 attacks {{!}} History, Summary, Location, Timeline, Casualties, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/September-11-attacks |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

On the day of the attacks, the [[National Security Agency]] intercepted communications that pointed to Bin Laden's responsibility,<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 September 2007 |title=Piece by piece, the jigsaw of terror revealed |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article218611.ece |url-status=live |access-date=September 8, 2024 |website=The Independent|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070915195906/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article218611.ece |archive-date=15 September 2007 }}</ref> as did [[List of intelligence agencies of Germany|German intelligence]] agencies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 29, 2001 |title=A NATION CHALLENGED: GERMAN INTELLIGENCE; German Data Led U.S. to Search For More Suicide Hijacker Teams |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/29/world/nation-challenged-german-intelligence-german-data-led-us-search-for-more-suicide.html |access-date=September 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> At 11:30&nbsp;p.m., Bush wrote in his diary: "The [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] of the 21st century took place today... We think it's Osama bin Laden."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-04-27 |title=America's Chaotic Road to War (washingtonpost.com) |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A43708-2002Jan26 |access-date=2024-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427183753/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A43708-2002Jan26 |archive-date=27 April 2011 }}</ref> The Federal Bureau of Investigation has stated that classified<ref>{{cite web |date=24 September 2001 |title=President Freezes Terrorists' Assets |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010924-4.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030212004/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010924-4.html |archive-date=30 October 2011 |access-date=26 June 2011 |work=The White House}}</ref> evidence linking al-Qaeda and Bin Laden to the September 11 attacks is clear and irrefutable.<ref>{{cite web |author=Watson, Dale L., Executive Assistant Director, Counter terrorism/Counterintelligence Division, FBI |date=6 February 2002 |title=FBI Testimony about 9/11 terrorists' motives |url=http://www.representativepress.org/FBITestimony.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505093746/http://www.representativepress.org/FBITestimony.html |archive-date=5 May 2011 |access-date=11 February 2011 |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation – (RepresentativePress)}}</ref> The UK Government reached a similar conclusion regarding al-Qaeda and Bin Laden's culpability for the September 11 attacks, although the government report noted that the evidence presented is not necessarily sufficient to prosecute the case.<ref>{{cite web |date=15 May 2003 |title=Responsibility for the Terrorist Atrocities in the United States, September&nbsp;11, 2001 |url=http://number10.gov.uk/archive/2003/05/september-11-attacks-culpability-document-3682 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100511135851/number10.gov.uk/archive/2003/05/september-11-attacks-culpability-document-3682 |archive-date=11 May 2010 |access-date=28 May 2010 |publisher=10 Downing Street, Office of the Prime Minister of the UK}}</ref> Identified [[motivations of the September 11 attacks]] include the support of Israel by the United States, presence of the U.S. military in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. enforcement of sanctions against Iraq.[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 672130-D-PUD18-896.jpg|thumb|Image from the video of Bin Laden released on 13 December 2001|left]]

Bin Laden initially denied involvement in the attacks. On 16 September 2001, he read a statement, later broadcast by Al Jazeera, denying responsibility for the attack.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Carl |last1=Cameron |first2=Marla |last2=Lehner |first3=Paul |last3=Wagenseil |agency=Associated Press |title=Pakistan to Demand Taliban Give Up Bin Laden as Iran Seals Afghan Border |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/pakistan-to-demand-taliban-give-up-bin-laden-as-iran-seals-afghan-border |publisher=Fox News Channel |date=16 September 2001 |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523082548/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,34440,00.html |archive-date=23 May 2010 }}</ref> In a videotape recovered by U.S. forces in November 2001 in Jalalabad, Bin Laden was seen discussing the attack with [[Khaled al-Harbi]] in a way that indicates foreknowledge.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Bin Laden on tape: Attacks 'benefited Islam greatly' |publisher=CNN |date=14 December 2001 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/12/13/ret.bin.laden.videotape |access-date=17 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214150849/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/12/13/ret.bin.laden.videotape/ |archive-date=14 December 2013 }}</ref> The tape was broadcast on various news networks on 13 December 2001. The merits of this translation have been disputed. Arabist Dr. Abdel El M. Husseini stated: "This translation is very problematic. At the most important places where it is held to prove the guilt of Bin Laden, it is not identical with the Arabic."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Restle|first1=Georg |last2=Sieker|first2=Ekkehard |url=http://www.wdr.de/tv/monitor/beitraege.phtml?id=379 |title=Bin-Laden-Video: Falschübersetzung als Beweismittel? |work=Monitor |number=485 |publisher=Westdeutscher Rundfunk |date=20 December 2001 |access-date=28 May 2010 |language=de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030217005900/http://www.wdr.de/tv/monitor/beitraege.phtml?id=379 |archive-date=17 February 2003}}</ref>

In the [[2004 Osama bin Laden video|2004 video]], Bin Laden abandoned his denials without retracting past statements. In it, he said he had personally directed the nineteen hijackers.<ref name="cbc-2004">{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bin-laden-claims-responsibility-for-9-11-1.513654 |title=Bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11 |publisher=CBC News |date=29 October 2004 |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025044652/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bin-laden-claims-responsibility-for-9-11-1.513654 |archive-date=25 October 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Al-Jazeera: Bin Laden tape obtained in Pakistan |publisher=NBC News |date=30 October 2004 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6363306 |access-date=28 May 2010 |archive-date=15 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415055105/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6363306/ |url-status=live }}—"In the tape, Bin Laden—wearing traditional white robes, a turban and a tan cloak—reads from papers at a lectern against a plain brown background. Speaking quietly in an even voice, he tells the American people that he ordered the September 11 attacks because 'we are a free people' who wanted to 'regain the freedom' of their nation."</ref> In the 18-minute tape, played on Al-Jazeera, four days before the American presidential election, Bin Laden accused George W. Bush of negligence in the [[Aircraft hijacking|hijacking]] of the planes on September 11.<ref name="cbc-2004" /> He said was inspired to destroy the World Trade Center after watching the [[Siege of Beirut|destruction of towers in Lebanon]] by Israel during the [[1982 Lebanon War]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3966817.stm |title=Excerpts: Bin Laden video |work=BBC News |date=29 October 2004 |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006091233/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3966817.stm |archive-date=6 October 2010 }}</ref> Through two other tapes aired by Al Jazeera in 2006, Bin Laden announced, "I am the one in charge of the nineteen brothers. ... I was responsible for entrusting the nineteen brothers ... with the raids" (23 May 2006).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12939961 |title=Osama bin Laden tape transcript |date=23 May 2006 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-date=13 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213030202/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12939961 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the tapes, he was seen with [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]], as well as two of the 9/11 hijackers, [[Hamza al-Ghamdi]] and [[Wail al-Shehri]], as they made preparations for the attacks (videotape broadcast 7 September 2006).<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bin-laden-9-11-planning-video-aired-1.618703 |title=Bin Laden 9/11 planning video aired |publisher=CBC News |date=7 September 2006 |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013183902/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bin-laden-9-11-planning-video-aired-1.618703 |archive-date=13 October 2007 }}</ref>