Editing Osama bin Laden (section)

== Militant and political career ==
{{Main|Militant career of Osama bin Laden}}

=== Afghan–Soviet War ===
{{See also|Allegations of CIA assistance to Osama bin Laden}}After leaving college in 1979, Bin Laden went to Pakistan, joined Abdullah Yusuf Azzam and used money and machinery from his own construction company to help the [[Mujahideen]] resistance in the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet—Afghan War]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/155236.stm |title=Who is Osama bin Laden? |work=BBC News |date=18 September 2001 |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224201012/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/155236.stm |archive-date=24 December 2008 }}</ref> He later told a journalist: "I felt outraged that an injustice had been committed against the people of Afghanistan."<ref>Interview with Robert Fisk, 22 March 1997, ''The Great War For Civilisation'', 2005, p. 7.</ref> From 1979 to 1992, the U.S. (as part of [[CIA activities in Afghanistan]], specifically [[Operation Cyclone]]), Saudi Arabia, and [[China]] provided between $6–12 billion worth of financial aid and weapons to tens of thousands of mujahideen through Pakistan's [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI).<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Steve Coll|last=Coll|first=Steve|title=[[Ghost Wars|Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to 10 September 2001]]|publisher=[[Penguin Group]]|year=2004|isbn=978-1-59420-007-6|pages=144–145, 238}}</ref>

British journalist [[Jason Burke]] wrote: "[Bin Laden] did not receive any direct funding or training from the U.S. during the 1980s. Nor did his followers. The Afghan mujahideen, via Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency, received large amounts of both. Some bled to the Arabs fighting the Soviets but nothing significant."<ref>{{cite web |last=Burke |first=Jason |author-link=Jason Burke |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/03/osama-bin-laden-10-myths-cia-arsenal |work=[[The Guardian]] |title=The 10 key myths about Osama bin Laden |date=11 May 2011 |access-date=10 October 2020 |archive-date=28 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228020631/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/03/osama-bin-laden-10-myths-cia-arsenal |url-status=live }}</ref> Bin Laden met and built relations with [[Hamid Gul]], who was a [[Three-star rank|three-star]] [[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|general]] in the [[Pakistan Army|Pakistani Army]] and head of the ISI agency. Although the United States provided the money and weapons, the training of militant groups was entirely done by the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]] and the ISI.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hiro|first=Dilip |author-link=Dilip Hiro|date=28 January 1999 |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/cost-afghan-victory?page=0,1 |title=The Cost of an Afghan 'Victory' |magazine=[[The Nation]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302090727/http://www.thenation.com/article/cost-afghan-victory?page=0%2C1 |archive-date=2 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to Brigadier Mohammad Yousaf, the person in charge of the ISI's Afghan operations at the time, it was a strict policy of Pakistan to prevent any American involvement in the distribution of funds or weapons or in the training of the mujahideen, and the CIA officials stayed in the embassy in [[Islamabad]], never entering Afghanistan or meeting with the Afghan resistance leaders themselves.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bergen |first1=Peter L. |title=The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden: The Biography |date=2021 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=43 |isbn=9781982170530 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anp5EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |access-date=18 May 2023 |archive-date=18 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518155937/https://books.google.com/books?id=anp5EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to some CIA officers, beginning in early 1980, Bin Laden acted as a liaison between the Saudi [[General Intelligence Presidency]] (GIP) and Afghan warlords; no evidence of contact between the CIA and Bin Laden exists in the CIA archives. [[Steve Coll]] states that although Bin Laden may not have been a formal, salaried GIP agent, "it seems clear that Bin Laden did have a substantial relationship with Saudi intelligence."<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Steve Coll|last=Coll|first=Steve|title=[[Ghost Wars|Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to 10 September 2001]]|publisher=[[Penguin Group]]|year=2004|isbn=978-1-59420-007-6|pages=72, 87–88}}</ref> Bin Laden's first trainer was [[US Special Forces|U.S. Special Forces]] commando [[Ali Mohamed (double agent)|Ali Mohamed]].<ref name="Cloonan">[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline//////torture/interviews/cloonan.html Interview with FBI special agent Jack Cloonan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321123520/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/torture/interviews/cloonan.html |date=21 March 2012}}, ''Frontline'', PBS, 18 October 2005.</ref>

By 1984, Bin Laden and Azzam established [[Maktab al-Khidamat]], which funneled money, arms, and fighters from around the Arab world into Afghanistan. Through al-Khadamat, Bin Laden's inherited family fortune<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=145 "Lawrence Wright estimates his share of the Saudi Binladin Group circa fall 1989 as amounted to 27&nbsp;million Saudi riyals – a little more than [US]$7&nbsp;million."}}</ref> paid for air tickets and accommodation, paid for paperwork with Pakistani authorities and provided other such services for the jihadi fighters. Bin Laden established camps inside [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] in Pakistan and trained volunteers from across the Muslim world to fight against the Soviet-backed regime, the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]. Between 1986 and 1987, Bin Laden set up a base in eastern Afghanistan for several dozen of his own Arab soldiers.<ref name="Bergen49">{{Harvnb|Bergen|2006|pp=49–51}}</ref> From this base, Bin Laden participated in some combat activity against the Soviets, such as the [[Battle of Jaji]] in 1987.<ref name="Bergen49" /> Despite its little strategic significance, the battle was lionized in the mainstream Arab press.<ref name="Bergen49" /> It was during this time that he became idolized by many Arabs.<ref name="Fisk-p4">{{cite book |last=Fisk |first=Robert |title=[[The Great War for Civilisation]] |year=2005 |page=4 |author-link=Robert Fisk}}</ref>

=== Allegation of involvement in 1988 Gilgit massacre ===
{{See also|1988 Gilgit massacre}}
In May 1988, responding to rumours of a massacre of Sunnis by Shias, large numbers of Shias from in and around [[Gilgit|Gilgit, Pakistan]] were killed in a massacre.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hunzai |first1=Izhar |title=Conflict Dynamics in Gilgit-Baltistan |url=https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/SR321.pdf |publisher=United States Institute of Peace |access-date=5 July 2017 |quote=In 1988, a rumor alleging a Sunni massacre at the hands of Shias resulted in an attack by thousands of armed tribesmen from the south, the killing of nearly four hundred Shias |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509172907/https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/SR321.pdf |archive-date=9 May 2017 }}</ref> Shia civilians were also subjected to rape.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=19mPVOBZ_9YC&pg=PA134 |title=The Making of Terrorism in Pakistan: Historical and Social Roots of Extremism |last=Murphy |first=Eamon |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-415-56526-4 |page=134 |quote=Shias in the district of Gilgit were assaulted, killed and raped by an invading Sunni lashkar-armed militia-comprising thousands of jihadis from the North West Frontier Province. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003094150/https://books.google.com/books?id=19mPVOBZ_9YC&pg=PA134&dq=gilgit+shias+raped+1988&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKgvjkm57RAhXLNpQKHZnoCx8Q6AEIGTAA#v=onepage&q=gilgit%20shias%20raped%201988&f=false |archive-date=3 October 2017 }}</ref> The massacre is alleged by [[B. Raman]], a founder of India's [[Research and Analysis Wing]],<ref>{{cite news |title=B Raman, one of RAW founders, passes away |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/b-raman-one-of-raw-founders-passes-away/ |access-date=5 July 2017 |work=The Indian Express |date=17 June 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802041911/http://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/b-raman-one-of-raw-founders-passes-away/ |archive-date=2 August 2017 }}</ref> to have been in response to a revolt by the Shias of Gilgit during the rule of military dictator [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia-ul Haq]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/the-shia-anger/221654 |title=The Shia Anger |last=Raman |first=B |date=7 October 2003 |work=Outlook |quote=Because they have not forgotten what happened in 1988. Faced with a revolt by the Shias of the Northern Areas (Gilgit and Baltistan) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), under occupation by the Pakistan Army, for a separate Shia State called the Karakoram State, the Pakistan Army transported Osama bin Laden's tribal hordes into Gilgit and let them loose on the Shias. They went around massacring hundreds of Shias – innocent men, women, and children.|access-date=31 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101001207/http://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/the-shia-anger/221654 |archive-date=1 January 2017 }}</ref> He alleged that the Pakistan Army induced Osama bin Laden to lead an armed group of Sunni tribals, from Afghanistan and the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|North-West Frontier Province]], into Gilgit and its surrounding areas to suppress the revolt.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/feb/26raman.htm |title=The Karachi Attack: The Kashmir Link |last=Raman |first=B |date=26 February 2003 |work=Rediiff News |quote=A revolt by the Shias of Gilgit was ruthlessly suppressed by the Zia-ul Haq regime in 1988, killing hundreds of Shias. An armed group of tribals from Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier Province, led by Osama bin Laden, was inducted by the Pakistan Army into Gilgit and adjoining areas to suppress the revolt.|access-date=31 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510091547/http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/feb/26raman.htm |archive-date=10 May 2017 }}</ref>

=== Formation and structuring of al-Qaeda ===
{{Main|Al-Qaeda}}
[[File:Flag of Jihad.svg|thumb|The flag used by various [[al-Qaeda]] factions]]
By 1988,<ref name="al-Fadl">{{cite court|litigants=United States v. Usama bin Laden et al.|court=[[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|SDNY]]|reporter=Cr.|vol=S (7) 98|opinion=1023|pinpoint=Testimony of Jamal Ahmed Mohamed al-Fadl|date=6 February 2001|url=http://cryptome.org/usa-v-ubl-02.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024164934/http://cryptome.org/usa-v-ubl-02.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Bin Laden had split from Maktab al-Khidamat. While Azzam acted as support for Afghan fighters, Bin Laden wanted a more military role. One of the main points leading to the split and the creation of al-Qaeda was Azzam's insistence that Arab fighters be integrated among the Afghan fighting groups instead of forming a separate fighting force.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bergen|2006|pp=74–88}}</ref> Notes of a meeting of Bin Laden and others on 20 August 1988, indicate that al-Qaeda was a formal group by that time: "Basically an organized Islamic faction, its goal is to lift the word of God, to make his religion victorious." A list of requirements for membership itemized the following: listening ability, good manners, obedience, and making a pledge (''[[Bay'at|bayat]]'') to follow one's superiors.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|pp=133–134}}.</ref>

According to Wright, the group's real name was not used in public pronouncements because its existence was still a closely held secret.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=260}}.</ref> His research suggests that al-Qaeda was formed at an 11 August 1988, meeting between several senior leaders of [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]] (EIJ), Azzam, and Bin Laden, where it was agreed to join Bin Laden's money with the expertise of the EIJ and take up the jihadist cause elsewhere after the [[Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan|Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8EqWnqdsgZMC&q=August+11,+1988,+meeting+between+%22several+senior+leaders%22+of+Egyptian+Islamic+Jihad,+Abdullah+Azzam,+and+bin+Laden&pg=PA108 |title=Urban Terrorism : Myths And Realities |first=N. C |last=Asthana |page=108 |publisher=Pointer Publishers |isbn=978-81-7132-598-6 |date=1 January 2009 |access-date=18 November 2020 |archive-date=2 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202135034/https://books.google.com/books?id=8EqWnqdsgZMC&q=August+11%2C+1988%2C+meeting+between+%22several+senior+leaders%22+of+Egyptian+Islamic+Jihad%2C+Abdullah+Azzam%2C+and+bin+Laden&pg=PA108 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989, Bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia as a hero of ''jihad''.<ref name="pbschronology">{{cite web |title=Who is Bin Laden?: Chronology |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414023118/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html |archive-date=14 April 2010 |access-date=28 May 2010 |publisher=PBS}}</ref> Along with his Arab legion, he was thought to have brought down the mighty superpower of the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|pp=146}}</ref> After his return to Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden engaged in opposition movements to the Saudi monarchy while working for [[Saudi Binladin Group|his family business]].<ref name="pbschronology" /> He offered to send al-Qaeda to overthrow the Soviet-aligned [[Yemeni Socialist Party]] government in [[South Yemen]], but was rebuffed by Prince [[Turki bin Faisal Al Saud|Turki bin Faisal]]. He then tried to disrupt the [[Yemeni unification]] process by assassinating YSP leaders, but was halted by Saudi Interior Minister Prince [[Nayef bin Abdulaziz]] after President [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]] complained to [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia|King Fahd]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|pp=173–176}}</ref> He was also angered by the internecine tribal fighting among the Afghans.<ref name="Fisk-p4" /> However, he continued working with the [[General Intelligence Presidency|Saudi GID]] and the [[Inter-Services Intelligence|Pakistani ISI]]. In March 1989, Bin Laden led 800 Arab foreign fighters during the unsuccessful [[Battle of Jalalabad (1989)|Battle of Jalalabad]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleiss |first=Alex |date=2022-04-05 |title=What happened in the battle of Jalalabad? |url=https://www.rebellionresearch.com/what-happened-in-the-battle-of-jalalabad |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=Rebellion Research |archive-date=26 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626020059/https://www.rebellionresearch.com/what-happened-in-the-battle-of-jalalabad |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=Roy Gutman |url=http://archive.org/details/howwemissedstory00gutm |title=How we missed the story |date=2008 |publisher=US Inst Peace Pr |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-60127-024-5}}</ref> Bin Laden led his men in person to immobilize the 7th [[Sarandoy]] Regiment but failed doing so leading to massive casualties. He funded the [[1990 Afghan coup d'état attempt]] led by hardcore communist General [[Shahnawaz Tanai]].<ref name="auto"/> He also lobbied the [[Parliament of Pakistan]] to carry out an unsuccessful [[motion of no confidence]] against Prime Minister [[Benazir Bhutto]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Coll|first=Steve|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52814066|title=Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to 10 September 2001|date=2004|publisher=Penguin Press|isbn=1-59420-007-6|location=New York|oclc=52814066|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=11 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811181909/https://www.worldcat.org/title/ghost-wars-the-secret-history-of-the-cia-afghanistan-and-bin-laden-from-the-soviet-invasion-to-september-10-2001/oclc/52814066|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Gulf war===

The [[invasion of Kuwait|Iraqi invasion of Kuwait]] under [[Saddam Hussein]] on 2 August 1990, put the Saudi kingdom and the royal family at risk. With Iraqi forces on the [[Iraq–Saudi Arabia border|Saudi border]], Saddam's appeal to pan-Arabism was potentially inciting internal dissent. One week after King Fahd agreed to [[United States Secretary of Defense|U.S. Secretary of Defense]] [[Dick Cheney]]'s offer of American military assistance, Bin Laden met with King Fahd and Saudi Defense Minister [[Sultan bin Abdulaziz]], telling them not to depend on non-Muslim assistance from the U.S. and others and offering to help defend Saudi Arabia with his Arab legion. When Sultan asked how Bin Laden would defend the fighters if Saddam used [[Iraq and weapons of mass destruction|Iraqi chemical and biological weapons]] against them, he replied, "We will fight him with faith."{{Sfn|Wright|2006|p=178–179}} Bin Laden's offer was rebuffed, and the Saudi monarchy invited the deployment of U.S. forces in Saudi territory.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jehl |first=Douglas |title=A Nation Challenged: Holy war lured Saudis as rulers looked Away |work=The New York Times |date=27 December 2001 |pages=A1, B4 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/27/world/a-nation-challenged-saudi-arabia-holy-war-lured-saudis-as-rulers-looked-away.html |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118105250/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/27/world/a-nation-challenged-saudi-arabia-holy-war-lured-saudis-as-rulers-looked-away.html |archive-date=18 November 2010 }}</ref>

Bin Laden publicly denounced Saudi dependence on the U.S. forces, arguing that it was indignity that the kingdom was being defended by an army of American unbelievers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jehl |first1=Douglas |title=A Nation Challenged: Saudi Arabia; Holy War Lured Saudis As Rulers Looked Away |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/27/world/a-nation-challenged-saudi-arabia-holy-war-lured-saudis-as-rulers-looked-away.html |access-date=21 November 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=27 December 2001 |page=1}}</ref> Bin Laden tried to convince the Saudi ''[[ulama]]'' to issue a fatwa condemning the American military deployment but senior clerics refused out of fear of repression.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=180}}</ref> Bin Laden's continued criticism of the Saudi monarchy led them to put him under house arrest, under which he remained until he was ultimately forced to leave the country in 1991.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murdico |first1=Suzanne J. |title=Osama bin Laden |date=2004 |publisher=New York, NY : Rosen Pub. Group |isbn=978-0-8239-4467-5 |page=32 |url=https://archive.org/details/osamabinladen0000murd/page/32/mode/2up}}</ref> The U.S. [[82nd Airborne Division]] landed in the north-eastern Saudi city of [[Dhahran]] and was deployed in the desert barely 400 miles from Medina.<ref name="Fisk-p4" />
[[File:1993 World Trade Center bombing debris investigations.jpg|thumb|The aftermath of al-Qaeda's [[1993 World Trade Center bombing|1993 bombing]] of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in New York City]]
Meanwhile, on 8 November 1990, the FBI raided the New Jersey home of [[El Sayyid Nosair]], an associate of al-Qaeda operative Ali Mohamed. They discovered copious evidence of terrorist plots, including plans to blow up New York City skyscrapers. This marked the earliest discovery of al-Qaeda terrorist plans outside of Muslim countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tkb.org/CaseHome.jsp?caseid=332 |title=USA v. Omar Ahmad Ali Abdel-Rahman et al: 93-CR-181-KTD |publisher=MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base |access-date=28 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109221029/http://www.tkb.org/CaseHome.jsp?caseid=332 |archive-date=9 January 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nosair was eventually convicted in connection to the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]] and, years later, admitted guilt for the murder of Rabbi [[Meir Kahane]] in New York City on 5 November 1990.

=== Move to Sudan ===
{{Further|Al-Qaeda involvement in Africa}}
In 1991, Bin Laden was expelled from Saudi Arabia by its government after repeatedly criticizing the Saudi alliance with the United States.<ref name="pbschronology" /><ref name="cnn201107">{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Timeline: Osama bin Laden, over the years |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.timeline/index.html |work=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717222154/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.timeline/index.html |archive-date=17 July 2011|access-date=17 October 2019}}</ref> He and his followers moved first to Afghanistan and then relocated to Sudan by 1992,<ref name="pbschronology" /><ref name="cnn201107" /> in a deal brokered by Ali Mohamed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Abdullah Assam: The Man Before Osama bin Laden |last=Emerson |first=Steve |url=http://www.iacsp.com/itobli3.html |publisher=International Association of Counterterrorism & Security Professionals|access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218211532/http://www.iacsp.com/itobli3.html |archive-date=18 February 2007 }}</ref> Bin Laden's personal security detail consisted of bodyguards personally selected by him. Their arsenal included [[SA-7]], [[Stinger missile]]s, AK-47s, [[Rocket-propelled grenade|RPGs]], and [[PK machine gun]]s.<ref>Soufan, Ali. ''The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda.'' W.W. Norton and Company. New York and London: 2011.Page 325</ref> Meanwhile, in March–April 1992, Bin Laden tried to play a pacifying role in the escalating [[Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)|civil war in Afghanistan]], by urging warlord [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]] to join the other mujahideen leaders negotiating a coalition government instead of trying to conquer [[Kabul]] for himself.{{sfnp|Gutman|2008|page=37}}

It is believed that the first bombing attack involving Bin Laden was the 29 December 1992, bombing of the [[Gold Mihor Hotel]] in [[Aden]] in which two people were killed.<ref name="pbschronology" />

In the 1990s, Bin Laden's al-Qaeda assisted jihadis financially, and sometimes militarily, in Algeria, Egypt, and Afghanistan. In 1992 or 1993, Bin Laden sent an emissary, Qari el-Said, with $40,000 to Algeria to aid the Islamists and urge war rather than negotiation with the government. Their advice was heeded. The [[Algerian Civil War#Massacres and reconciliation|war]] that followed caused the deaths of 150,000 to 200,000 Algerians and ended with the Islamists surrendering to the government.<ref name="GhostWars">Coll, Steve, "Ghost Wars," (Penguin Books, 2004)</ref>

In Sudan, Bin Laden established a new base for Mujahideen operations in [[Khartoum]]. He bought [[Osama bin Laden's house in Khartoum|a house on Al-Mashtal Street]] in the affluent Al-Riyadh quarter and a retreat at [[Soba (city)|Soba]] on the [[Blue Nile]].<ref name="Reeve2002">{{cite book |last=Reeve |first=Simon |title=The new jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the future of terrorism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VQjpziNmoE4C&pg=PA172 |access-date=7 May 2011 |date=27 June 2002 |publisher=UPNE |isbn=978-1-55553-509-4 |page=172 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529065422/http://books.google.com/books?id=VQjpziNmoE4C&pg=PA172 |archive-date=29 May 2013 }}</ref><ref name="ShayLiberman2006">{{cite book |last1=Shay |first1=Shaul |last2=Liberman |first2=Rachel |title=The Red Sea terror triangle: Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Islamic terror |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v2ss0vor_DkC&pg=PA43 |access-date=7 May 2011 |date=13 October 2006 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-1-4128-0620-6 |page=43 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529080257/http://books.google.com/books?id=v2ss0vor_DkC&pg=PA43 |archive-date=29 May 2013 }}</ref> During his time in Sudan, he heavily invested in the infrastructure, in agriculture and businesses.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fisk |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Fisk |date=December 6, 1993 |title=Anti-Soviet warrior puts his army on the road to peace: The Saudi businessman who recruited mujahedin now uses them for large-scale building projects in Sudan. Robert Fisk met him in Almatig |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/antisoviet-warrior-puts-his-army-on-the-road-to-peace-the-saudi-businessman-who-recruited-mujahedin-now-uses-them-for-largescale-building-projects-in-sudan-robert-fisk-met-him-in-almatig-1465715.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220902121545/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/antisoviet-warrior-puts-his-army-on-the-road-to-peace-the-saudi-businessman-who-recruited-mujahedin-now-uses-them-for-largescale-building-projects-in-sudan-robert-fisk-met-him-in-almatig-1465715.html |archive-date=September 2, 2022 |access-date=December 7, 2024 |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> He was the Sudan agent for the British firm [[Hunting Surveys]],<ref name="VF2002">{{cite web|last=Rose |first=David |date=January 2002 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2002/01/osama200201 |title=The Osama Files|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008210904/http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2002/01/osama200201 |archive-date=8 October 2014}}</ref> and built roads using the same bulldozers he had employed to construct mountain tracks in Afghanistan. Many of his labourers were the same fighters who had been his comrades in the war against the Soviet Union. He was generous to the poor and popular with the people.<ref name="Gallab2008">{{cite book |last=Gallab |first=Abdullahi A. |title=The first Islamist republic: development and disintegration of Islamism in Sudan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s1XdRfAJwLIC&pg=PA127 |access-date=7 May 2011 |year=2008 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-0-7546-7162-6 |page=127 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727154122/http://books.google.com/books?id=s1XdRfAJwLIC&pg=PA127 |archive-date=27 July 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Fisk|first=Robert |year=2005|title=The Great War for Civilisation|page=5}}</ref> He continued to criticize King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. In response, in 1994, Fahd stripped Bin Laden of his Saudi citizenship and persuaded his family to cut off his $7&nbsp;million a year stipend.<ref name=":7" /><ref name="Forbes">{{cite web|last=Ackman|first=Dan |url=https://www.forbes.com/2001/09/14/0914ladenmoney.html |title=The Cost Of Being Osama bin Laden|work=Forbes |date=14 September 2001|access-date=15 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729115849/https://www.forbes.com/2001/09/14/0914ladenmoney.html |archive-date=29 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=195}}</ref>

By that time, Bin Laden was being linked with EIJ, which made up the core of al-Qaeda. In 1995, the EIJ [[Attempted assassination of President Hosni Mubarak|attempted to assassinate]] the Egyptian President [[Hosni Mubarak]]. The attempt failed, and Sudan expelled the EIJ. After this bombing, al-Qaeda was reported to have developed its justification for the killing of innocent people. According to a fatwa issued by [[Mamdouh Mahmud Salim]], the killing of someone standing near the enemy is justified because any innocent bystander will find a proper reward in death, going to ''[[Jannah]]'' (paradise) if they were good Muslims and to ''[[Jahannam]]'' (hell) if they were bad or non-believers.<ref>testimony of Jamal al-Fadl, US v. Usama bin Laden, et al.</ref> The fatwa was issued to al-Qaeda members but not the general public.

The U.S. State Department accused Sudan of being a [[State terrorism|sponsor of international terrorism]] and Bin Laden of operating terrorist training camps in the Sudanese desert. However, according to Sudan officials, this stance became obsolete as the Islamist political leader [[Hassan al-Turabi]] lost influence in their country. The Sudanese wanted to engage with the U.S., but American officials refused to meet with them even after they had expelled Bin Laden. It was not until 2000 that the State Department authorized U.S. intelligence officials to visit Sudan.<ref name="VF2002" />

The [[9/11 Commission Report]] states:

<blockquote>In late 1995, when Bin Laden was still in Sudan, the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) learned that Sudanese officials were discussing with the Saudi government the possibility of expelling Bin Laden. CIA paramilitary officer [[Billy Waugh]] tracked down Bin Ladin in Sudan and prepared an operation to apprehend him, but was denied authorization.<ref>''Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Soldier's Fifty Years on the Frontlines of the War Against Terrorism,'' 2004.</ref> US Ambassador [[Timothy M. Carney|Timothy Carney]] encouraged the Sudanese to pursue this course. The Saudis, however, did not want Bin Laden, giving as their reason their revocation of his citizenship. [[Minister of Defence (Sudan)|Sudan's minister of defense]], Fatih Erwa, has claimed that Sudan offered to hand Bin Laden over to the United States. The Commission has found no credible evidence that this was so. Ambassador Carney had instructions only to push the Sudanese to expel Bin Laden. Ambassador Carney had no legal basis to ask for more from the Sudanese since, at the time, there was no indictment outstanding against Bin Laden in any country.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch4.pdf |title=Responses to Al Qaeda's Initial Assaults |publisher=9/11 Commission |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015032827/http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch4.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2009}}</ref></blockquote>

In January 1996, the CIA launched a new unit of its [[Counterterrorism Center]] (CTC) called the [[Bin Laden Issue Station]], code-named "Alec Station", to track and to carry out operations against his activities. Bin Laden Issue Station was headed by Michael Scheuer, a veteran of the Islamic Extremism Branch of the CTC.<ref name="GhostWars" /> U.S. intelligence monitored Bin Laden in Sudan using operatives to run by daily and to photograph activities at his compound, and using an intelligence safe house and [[signals intelligence]] to surveil him and to record his moves.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jacobsen |first=Annie |author-link=Annie Jacobsen |title=Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=2019 |place=New York |pages=281–288}}</ref>

=== Return to Afghanistan ===
The 9/11 Commission Report states:

<blockquote>In February 1996, Sudanese officials began approaching officials from the United States and other governments, asking what actions of theirs might ease foreign pressure. In secret meetings with Saudi officials, Sudan offered to expel Bin Laden to Saudi Arabia and asked the Saudis to pardon him. US officials became aware of these secret discussions, certainly by March. Saudi officials apparently wanted Bin Laden expelled from Sudan. They had already revoked his citizenship, however, and would not tolerate his presence in their country. Also Bin Laden may have no longer felt safe in Sudan, where he had already escaped at least one assassination attempt that he believed to have been the work of the Egyptian or Saudi regimes, and paid for by the [[CIA]].</blockquote>

Due to the increasing pressure on Sudan from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States, Bin Laden was permitted to leave for a country of his choice. He chose to return to [[Jalalabad]], Afghanistan aboard a chartered flight on 18 May 1996; there he forged a close relationship with Mullah Omar.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/la-120601tora-story.html |title=Fighters Hunt Former Ally |work=Los Angeles Times |last=Stack |first=Megan K. |date=6 December 2001 |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919134203/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/dec/06/news/mn-12224 |archive-date=19 September 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1550419.stm |title=Profile: Mullah Mohamed Omar |date=18 September 2001 |work=BBC News |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728110131/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1550419.stm |archive-date=28 July 2010 }}</ref> The expulsion from Sudan significantly weakened Bin Laden and his organization.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch2.pdf |title=The Foundation of the New Terrorism |publisher=9/11 Commission |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827082338/http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch2.pdf |archive-date=27 August 2010 }}</ref> Some African intelligence sources have argued that the expulsion left Bin Laden without an option other than becoming a full-time radical, and that most of the 300 Afghan Arabs who left with him subsequently became terrorists.<ref name=VF2002 /> Various sources report that he lost between $20&nbsp;million<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=222}}</ref> and $300&nbsp;million<ref>{{Harvnb|Stern|2003|p=253}}</ref> in Sudan; the government seized his construction equipment, and he was forced to liquidate his businesses, land, and even his horses.

==== 1996 Declaration of war and 1998 fatwa ====
{{Main|Fatawā of Osama bin Laden}}
In August 1996, Bin Laden [[Fatawā of Osama bin Laden#1996 fatwā|issued a]] ''[[Fatwa|fatwā]]'' titled "''Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places''", which was published by ''[[Al-Quds Al-Arabi]]'', a London-based newspaper. Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Mecca and Medina. The reference to occupation in the ''[[Fatwa|fatwā]]'' referred to U.S. forces based in Saudi Arabia for the purpose of controlling air space in Iraq, known as [[Operation Southern Watch]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Bergen|2008|p=14}}.</ref> Despite the assurance of President [[George H. W. Bush]] to King Fahd in 1990, that all U.S. forces based in Saudi Arabia would be withdrawn once the Iraqi threat had been dealt with, by 1996 the Americans were still there. Bush cited the necessity of dealing with the remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime (which Bush had chosen not to destroy). Bin Laden's view was that "the 'evils' of the Middle East arose from America's attempt to take over the region and from its support for Israel. Saudi Arabia had been turned into an [[American colonialism|American colony]]".<ref name="Fisk-p22">{{cite book |last=Fisk |first=Robert |title=The Great War for Civilisation |year=2005 |page=22}}</ref>

Fervently attacking [[American-Israeli relations|American support for Israel]] and Saudi Arabia as well as its [[Sanctions against Iraq|sanctions on Iraq]], Bin Laden declared in the ''fatwa'': <blockquote>"Terrorising you, while you are carrying arms on our land, is a legitimate and morally demanded duty. It is a legitimate right well known to all humans and other creatures... [our] youths are different from your soldiers. Your problem will be how to convince your troops to fight, while our problem will be how to restrain our youths.. The youths hold you responsible for all of the killings and evictions of the Muslims and the violation of the sanctities, carried out by your [[Israeli invasion and occupation of South Lebanon (1982-2000)|Zionist brothers in Lebanon]]; you openly supplied them with arms and finance. More than 600,000 Iraqi children have died due to lack of food and medicine and as a result of the unjustifiable aggression ([[Sanctions against Iraq|sanction]]) imposed on Iraq and its nation. The children of Iraq are our children. You, the USA, together with the Saudi regime are responsible for the shedding of the blood of these innocent children. Due to all of that, what ever treaty you have with our country is now null and void."<ref>{{cite web |date=August 1996 |title=Bin Laden's Fatwa |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011031024057/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html |archive-date=31 October 2001 |access-date=25 June 2011 |publisher=PBS}}</ref></blockquote>[[File:Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden.jpg|thumb|Pakistani journalist [[Hamid Mir]] interviewing Bin Laden, {{circa|1997–1998}}. The [[AKS-74U]] in the background is a symbol of the [[mujahideen]]'s [[Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan|victory over the Soviets]], since these weapons were captured from [[Spetsnaz]] forces.]]

On 23 February 1998; Bin Laden, alongside [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], [[Ahmed Refai Taha|Ahmad Refai Taha]], [[Shaykh Mir Hamzah]] and [[Maulana Fazlur Rehman|Maulana Fazlur Rahman]]; issued [[Fatawā of Osama bin Laden#1998 fatwā|another ''fatwā'']] against the U.S., calling upon Muslims to attack the country and its allies. It was entitled "''Declaration of the World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and the Crusaders''".<ref name="irp.fas.org">{{Cite web |title=Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders: World Islamic Front Statement |url=https://irp.fas.org/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204143050/https://irp.fas.org/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm |archive-date=4 December 2021 |access-date= |website=FAS Intelligence Resource Program}}</ref> After listing numerous acts of aggression committed by the U.S., such as the [[Operation Southern Watch|presence of American forces in the Arabian Peninsula]], sanctions against Iraq, Israeli repression of Palestinians, among other things. The fatwa stated: <blockquote>"All these American crimes and sins are a clear proclamation of war against God, his Messenger, and the Muslims. Religious scholars throughout Islamic history have agreed that ''Jihad'' is an individual duty when an enemy attacks Muslim countries. This was related by the [[Imam]] [[Ibn Qudamah|ibn Qudama]] in "''The Resource''," by Imam [[al-Kisa'i]] in "''The Marvels''," by [[al-Qurtubi]] in his exegesis, and by the Sheikh of Islam when he states in his chronicles that "As for fighting to repel an enemy, which is the strongest way to defend freedom and religion, it is agreed that this is a duty. After faith, there is no greater duty than fighting an enemy who is corrupting religion and the world.""<ref>{{cite book |title=Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden |publisher=Verso |year=2005 |isbn=1-84467-045-7 |editor=Bruce Lawrence |location=6 Meard Street, London W1F OEG |pages=60, 61}}</ref><ref name="irp.fas.org"/></blockquote>

At the public announcement, Bin Laden said that North Americans are "very easy targets". He told the attending journalists, "You will see the results of this in a very short time."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Van Atta |first=Dale |author-link=Dale Van Atta |year=1998 |title=Carbombs & cameras: the need for responsible media coverage of terrorism |url=https://archive.org/details/trustbetrayedins00vana/page/66 |journal=Harvard International Review |location=Cambridge, Mass. |publisher=Harvard International Relations Council |volume=20 |issue=4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/trustbetrayedins00vana/page/66 66] |isbn=978-0-89526-485-5 |issn=0739-1854 |access-date=28 May 2010}}</ref> It also claimed the "individual duty for every Muslim "was to liberate [[Al-Aqsa]] in [[Jerusalem]] and the [[Masjid al-Haram|Grand Mosque in Mecca]] from their grip.<ref>{{cite web |author=Shaykh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin |last2=al-Zawahiri |first2=Ayman |author3=Abu-Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha |author4=Shaykh Mir Hamzah |last5=Rahman |first5=Fazlur |date=23 February 1998 |title=World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders: Initial "Fatwa" Statement |url=http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/fatw2.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626184406/https://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/fatw2.htm |archive-date=26 June 2016 |access-date=28 May 2010 |work=al-Quds al-Arabi |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Shaykh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin |last2=al-Zawahiri |first2=Ayman |author3=Abu-Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha |author4=Shaykh Mir Hamzah |last5=Rahman |first5=Fazlur |date=23 February 1998 |title=Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders. World Islamic Front Statement |url=https://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421110549/http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm |archive-date=21 April 2010 |access-date=28 May 2010 |publisher=al-Quds al-Arabi}} English-language version of the fatwa translated by the [[Federation of American Scientists]] of the [http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/fatw2.htm original Arabic document published in the newspaper ''al-Quds al-Arabi'' (London, UK) on 1998-02-23, p. 3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626184406/https://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/fatw2.htm|date=26 June 2016}}.</ref>

=== Late 1990s attacks ===
In Afghanistan, Bin Laden and al-Qaeda raised money from donors from the days of the Afghan ''jihad'', and from the Pakistani ISI to establish more training camps for Mujahideen fighters.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2006|p=250}}</ref> Bin Laden effectively took over [[Ariana Afghan Airlines]], which ferried Islamic militants, arms, cash, and opium through the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, as well as provided false identifications to members of Bin Laden's terrorist network.<ref>Stephen Braun; Judy Pasternak [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-18-mn-5593-story.html "Long Before Sept. 11, Bin Laden Aircraft Flew Under the Radar"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. 18 November 2001.</ref> The arms smuggler [[Viktor Bout]] helped to run the airline, maintaining planes and loading cargo. Michael Scheuer, head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit, concluded that Ariana was being used as a terrorist taxi service.<ref>''Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible'' (2007), pp. 138–140</ref>

It has been claimed that Bin Laden funded the [[Luxor massacre]] of 17 November 1997,<ref>Jailan Halawi, "Bin Laden behind Luxor Massacre?", ''Al-Ahram Weekly'', 20–26 May 1999.</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Barbara |last=Plett |title=Bin Laden 'behind Luxor massacre' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/343207.stm |work=BBC News |date=13 May 1999 |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121090734/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/343207.stm |archive-date=21 November 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Profile: Ayman al-Zawahiri |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1560834.stm |work=BBC News |date=27 September 2004 |access-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819003214/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1560834.stm |archive-date=19 August 2010 }}</ref> which killed 62 civilians, and outraged the Egyptian public. In mid-1997, the [[Northern Alliance]] threatened to overrun Jalalabad, causing him to abandon his [[Najim Jihad]] compound and move his operations to [[Tarnak Farms]] in the south.<ref name="arkChark">Testimony of [[Abdurahman Khadr]] as a witness in the trial against Charkaoui, 13 July 2004.</ref>[[File:1998 United States embassy in Nairobi bombings IDF relief VII.jpg|thumb|The aftermath of the [[1998 United States embassy bombings|1998 bombing]] of the U.S. embassy in [[Nairobi|Nairobi, Kenya]]|left]]Another successful attack was carried out in the city of [[Mazar-i-Sharif]] in Afghanistan. Bin Laden helped cement his alliance with the Taliban by sending several hundred Afghan Arab fighters along to help the Taliban kill between five and six thousand [[Hazaras]] overrunning the city.<ref>Rashid, ''Taliban'', p. 139.</ref>
Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri organized an al-Qaeda congress on 24 June 1998.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=252 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703033234/http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=252 |title=Russian Secret Services' Links With Al-Qaeda |date=18 July 2005 |last=Elbaz|first=Michel |work=Axis Globe |archive-date=3 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[1998 United States embassy bombings|1998 U.S. embassy bombings]] were a series of attacks that occurred on 7 August 1998, in which hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous [[truck bomb]] explosions at the U.S. embassies in the major East African cities of [[Dar es Salaam]], [[Tanzania]], and [[Nairobi]], Kenya.<ref name="cnn201310">{{cite web |year=2013 |title=1998 US Embassies in Africa Bombings Fast Facts |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/06/africa/africa-embassy-bombings-fast-facts/index.html |work=CNN |access-date=17 October 2019 |archive-date=24 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024083240/https://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/06/world/africa/africa-embassy-bombings-fast-facts/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The attacks were linked to local members of the EIJ, and brought Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to the attention of the U.s. public for the first time. Al-Qaeda later claimed responsibility for the bombings.<ref name="cnn201310" />
[[File:Operation Infinite Reach map.png|thumb|The two locations targeted in [[Operation Infinite Reach]], the U.S.' 1998 bombing of al-Qaeda targets in [[Khartoum|Khartoum, Sudan]], and [[Khost|Khost, Afghanistan]]]]
In retaliation for the embassy bombings, U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] ordered a [[Operation Infinite Reach|series of cruise missile strikes]] on Bin Laden-related targets in Sudan and Afghanistan on 20 August 1998.<ref name="cnn201310" /> In December 1998, the CIA reported to Clinton that al-Qaeda was preparing for attacks in the U.S., including the training of personnel to hijack aircraft.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522041639/http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0001110635/0001110635_0001.gif |archive-date=22 May 2010 |title=Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack U.S. Aircraft and Other Attacks |date=4 December 1998 |access-date=3 March 2016 |publisher=[[Director of Central Intelligence]] |url=http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0001110635/0001110635_0001.gif}}</ref> On 7 June 1999, the FBI placed Bin Laden on its [[FBI ten most wanted fugitives|Ten Most Wanted]] list.<ref name="pbscontext">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/timeline-al-qaedas-global-context/ |title=Timeline: Al Qaeda's Global Context |publisher=PBS |date=3 October 2002 |access-date=20 October 2019 |archive-date=9 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809234850/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/etc/cron.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives |url=https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/laden.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103044553/http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/laden.htm |archive-date=3 January 2008 |access-date=26 May 2010 |publisher=FBI.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Eggen |first=Dan |date=28 August 2006 |title=Bin Laden, Most Wanted For Embassy Bombings? |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/27/AR2006082700687.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115203443/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/27/AR2006082700687.html |archive-date=15 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="cnnterrorlist">{{cite news |date=10 October 2001 |title='Most wanted terrorists' list released |publisher=CNN |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/10/10/inv.mostwanted.list/ |url-status=live |access-date=2 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050410042856/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/10/10/inv.mostwanted.list |archive-date=10 April 2005}}</ref><ref name="Fisk-p22" /> On October 15, 1999, the United Nations designated al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization through [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267|UN Security Council Resolution 1267]]. This resolution aimed to impose sanctions on individuals and entities associated with al-Qaeda, including freezing assets and imposing travel bans.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 October 1999 |title=Resolution 1267 (1999) |url=http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/1267 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701101037/http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/1267 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |website=unscr.org |publisher=UN Security Council}}</ref>

In late 2000, [[Richard A. Clarke|Richard Clarke]] revealed that Islamic militants headed by Bin Laden had planned a [[2000 millennium attack plots|triple attack on 3 January 2000]], which would have included bombings in [[Jordan]] of the [[Radisson SAS Hotel]] in [[Amman]], tourists at [[Mount Nebo (Jordan)|Mount Nebo]], and a site on the [[Jordan River]], as well as the sinking of the destroyer {{USS|The Sullivans|DDG-68|6}} in Yemen, and an attack on a target within the United States. The plan was foiled by the arrest of the Jordanian terrorist cell, the sinking of the explosive-filled skiff intended to target the destroyer, and the arrest of [[Ahmed Ressam]].<ref name="Loeb">{{Cite news |last=Loeb |first=Vernon |author-link=Vernon Loeb |date=24 December 2000 |title=Terrorists Plotted Jan. 2000 Attacks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A43852-2000Dec23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521152243/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A43852-2000Dec23/ |archive-date=21 May 2018 |access-date=6 January 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

=== Yugoslav Wars ===
{{See also|Bosnian mujahideen}}
A former U.S. State Department official in October 2001 described [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] as a safe haven for terrorists, and asserted that militant elements of the former [[Sarajevo]] government were protecting extremists, some with ties to Bin Laden.<ref name=SeattleTimes2001-10-15>{{Cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20011015/bosnia15/bosnia-151-base-for-terrorism |title=Bosnia – base for terrorism |work=The Seattle Times |last1=Pyes|first1=Craig |last2=Meyer|first2=Josh |last3=Rempel|first3=William C. |date=15 October 2001 |access-date=25 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119202404/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20011015&slug=bosnia15 |archive-date=19 November 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to Middle East intelligence reports, Bin Laden financed small convoys of recruits from the Arab world through his businesses in Sudan. Among them was [[Karim Said Atmani]], who was identified by authorities as the document forger for a group of Algerians accused of plotting the bombings in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/50933336.html?FMT=ABS |title=A Bosnian Village's Terrorist Ties |newspaper=The Washington Post |last=Smith |first=R. Jeffrey |date=11 March 2000 |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725055852/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/50933336.html?FMT=ABS |archive-date=25 July 2012 }}</ref> He is a former roommate of [[Ahmed Ressam]], the man arrested at the [[Canada–United States border]] in mid-December 1999 with a car full of nitroglycerin and bomb-making materials.<ref name="csisAlmrei">[[Canadian Security Intelligence Service]], Summary of the Security Intelligence Report concerning Hassan Almrei, 22 February 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Baravalle |first=Giorgio |title=Rethink: Cause and Consequences of September&nbsp;11 |publisher=de-MO |year=2004 |page=584 |isbn=0-9705768-6-2}}</ref> He was convicted of colluding with Bin Laden by a French court.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.aina.org/news/20050817121245.htm |title=Jihadists find convenient base in Bosnia |agency=Assyrian International News Agency |last=Gossett |first=Sherrie |date=17 August 2005 |access-date=25 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217231929/http://www.aina.org/news/20050817121245.htm |archive-date=17 December 2005 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A Bosnian government search of passport and residency records, conducted at the urging of the United States, revealed other former Mujahideen who were linked to the same Algerian group or to other groups of suspected terrorists, and had lived in the area {{convert|60|mi|km|sigfig=1|order=flip|abbr=on}} north of Sarajevo, the capital, in the past few years. [[Khalil al-Deek]] was arrested in Jordan in late December 1999 on suspicion of involvement in a plot to blow up tourist sites. A second man with Bosnian citizenship, Hamid Aich, lived in Canada at the same time as Atmani and worked for a charity associated with Bin Laden. In its 26 June 1997 report on the bombing of the Al Khobar building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ''The New York Times'' noted that those arrested confessed to serving with Bosnian Muslim forces. Further, the captured men also admitted to ties with Bin Laden.<ref name="ReferenceA">"Bin Laden was granted Bosnian passport", Agence France-Presse, 24 September 1999.</ref><ref name="query.nytimes.com">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/23/world/outsiders-bring-islamic-fervor-to-the-balkans.html |title=Outsiders Bring Islamic Fervor To the Balkans |work=The New York Times |last=Hedges |first=Chris |date=23 September 1996 |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705164148/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/23/world/outsiders-bring-islamic-fervor-to-the-balkans.html |archive-date=5 July 2011 }}</ref>{{Verify source|date=January 2021}}

In 1999, the press reported that Bin Laden and his Tunisian assistant Mehrez Aodouni were granted citizenship and [[Bosnian passport]]s in 1993 by the government in Sarajevo. The Bosnian government denied this information following the September 11 attacks, but it was later found that Aodouni was arrested in Turkey and that at that time he possessed the Bosnian passport. Following this revelation, a new explanation was given that Bin Laden did not personally collect his Bosnian passport and that officials at the Bosnian embassy in Vienna, which issued the passport, could not have known who he was at the time.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name="query.nytimes.com" />{{Verify source|date=January 2021}}

The head of Albania's State Intelligence Service ([[SHISH]]), Fatos Klosi, said that Bin Laden was running a terror network in [[Albania]] to take part in the [[Kosovo War]] under the guise of a humanitarian organization and it was reported to have been started in 1994. Claude Kader, who was a member, testified its existence during his trial.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/6d844d0d31d7cf39ccd52891567235be |title=Bin Laden, Albania Link Reported |website=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=8 October 2018 |archive-date=9 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009013427/https://apnews.com/6d844d0d31d7cf39ccd52891567235be |url-status=live }}</ref> By 1998, four members of EIJ were arrested in Albania and extradited to Egypt.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mayer|first=Jane |title=The Dark Side |year=2008 |publisher=Doubleday |page=114 |isbn=978-0-385-52639-5}} (0-385-52639-3)</ref> The mujahideen fighters were organized by Islamic leaders in Western Europe allied to him and al-Zawahiri.<ref name="Bodansky2011">{{cite book|last=Bodansky|first=Yossef|title=Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vur8xnVanEUC&pg=PA398|date=4 May 2011|publisher=Crown Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-79772-8|pages=398–403|access-date=26 October 2018|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019145435/https://books.google.com/books?id=vur8xnVanEUC&pg=PA398|url-status=live}}</ref>

During his trial at the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia]], former Serbian President [[Slobodan Milošević]] quoted from a purported FBI report that al-Qaeda had a presence in the Balkans and aided the [[Kosovo Liberation Army]]. He claimed Bin Laden had used Albania as a launchpad for violence in the region and Europe. He claimed that they had informed [[Richard Holbrooke]] that KLA was being aided by al-Qaeda but the US decided to cooperate with the KLA and thus indirectly with Osama despite the U.S. embassy bombings earlier. Milošević had argued that the U.S. aided the terrorists, which culminated in its backing of the 1999 [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]] during the Kosovo War.<ref>{{cite news|last=Roche|first=Andrew |url=http://news.findlaw.com/international/s/20020215/milosevicdc.html|title=Milosevic: U.S. was Ally of Al Qaeda in Kosovo|agency=Reuters |date=15 February 2002|via=FindLaw|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020220040734/http://news.findlaw.com/international/s/20020215/milosevicdc.html|archive-date=20 February 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Scahill |first1=Jeremy |title=Rest Easy, Bill Clinton: Milosevic Can't Talk Anymore |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rest-easy-bill-clinton-mi_b_17235 |website=Huffington Post |date=13 March 2006 |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-date=2 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202135015/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rest-easy-bill-clinton-mi_b_17235 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Al-Qaeda 'helped Kosovo rebels' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1862515.stm |website=BBC News |date=8 March 2002 |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-date=9 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809231059/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1862515.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=US backed Al Qaeda in Kosovo: Milosevic: Chinese embassy bombing termed deliberate |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/21743/us-backed-al-qaeda-in-kosovo-milosevic-chinese-embassy-bombing-termed-deliberate |website=Dawn |date=16 February 2002 |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-date=24 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724072002/https://www.dawn.com/news/21743/us-backed-al-qaeda-in-kosovo-milosevic-chinese-embassy-bombing-termed-deliberate |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Criminal charges ===
On 16 March 1998, Libya issued the first official Interpol [[arrest warrant]] against Bin Laden and three other people. They were charged for killing Silvan Becker, agent of Germany's domestic intelligence service, the [[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution]], in the Terrorism Department, and his wife Vera in Libya on 10 March 1994.<ref name="interpol" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Flade |first=Florian |date=2 May 2011 |title=The Untold Story of Gaddafi's Hunt For Osama bin Laden |url=http://www.worldcrunch.com/untold-story-gaddafis-hunt-osama-bin-laden/2963 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122185405/http://worldcrunch.com/untold-story-gaddafis-hunt-osama-bin-laden/2963 |archive-date=22 November 2011 |access-date=3 September 2011 |publisher=[[Die Welt]]/Worldcrunch}}</ref> Bin Laden was still wanted by the [[Libyan government]] at the time of his death.<ref>{{cite web |last=Salama |first=Sammy |date=September 2004 |title=Was Libyan WMD Disarmament a Significant Success for Nonproliferation? |url=http://www.nti.org/e_research/e3_56a.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602234625/http://www.nti.org/e_research/e3_56a.html |archive-date=2 June 2011 |access-date=28 May 2010 |publisher=NTI}}</ref><ref>Interpol Arrest Warrant File No. 1998/20232, Control No. A-268/5-1998. Brisard Jean-Charles, Dasquie Guillaume. "Forbidden Truth". (New York: Thunder Mouth Press, 2002), p. 156.</ref> He was first indicted by a [[grand jury]] of the U.S. on 8 June 1998, on a charges of conspiracy to attack defense utilities of the U.S. and prosecutors further charged that Bin Laden was the head of the terrorist organization called al-Qaeda, and that he was a major financial backer of Islamic fighters worldwide.<ref name="cron">{{cite web |author1=Frontline |author-link=Frontline (American TV program) |author2=The New York Times |author3=Rain Media |year=c. 2001 |title=Osama bin Laden: A Chronology of His Political Life |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717222134/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html |archive-date=17 July 2006 |access-date=25 July 2006 |work=Hunting Bin Laden: Who Is Bin Laden? |series=Frontline |publisher=[[WGBH-TV|WGBH]] Educational Foundation}}</ref>

During the Clinton administration, capturing Bin Laden had been an objective of the U.S. government.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 September 2006 |title=Bill Clinton: I got closer to killing Bin Laden |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/24/clinton.binladen/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005001828/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/24/clinton.binladen/index.html |archive-date=5 October 2006 |access-date=27 May 2010 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> Shortly after the September 11 attacks, it was revealed that Clinton had signed a directive authorizing the CIA (specifically, their elite [[Special Activities Center|Special Activities Division]]) to apprehend Bin Laden and bring him to the U.S. to stand trial for the 1998 embassy attacks; if taking him alive was deemed impossible, then deadly force was authorized.<ref name="cbs">{{cite news |date=16 September 2001 |title=Report: Clinton Targeted Bin Laden |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-clinton-targeted-bin-laden/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508111618/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/09/16/national/main311490.shtml |archive-date=8 May 2011 |publisher=[[CBS News]]}}</ref> On 20 August 1998, 66 cruise missiles launched by U.S. Navy ships in the [[Arabian Sea]] struck Bin Laden's training camps near [[Khost]] in Afghanistan, missing him by a few hours.<ref name="Woodward&Ricks">{{cite news |last1=Woodward |first1=Bob |last2=Ricks |first2=Thomas E. |date=3 October 2001 |title=CIA Trained Pakistanis to Nab Terrorist But Military Coup Put an End to 1999 Plot |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/18/AR2007111800629.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828011415/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/18/AR2007111800629.html |archive-date=28 August 2016 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

On 4 November 1998, Bin Laden was indicted by a [[Grand juries in the United States|Federal Grand Jury]] in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]], on charges of ''Murder of US Nationals Outside the United States, Conspiracy to Murder US Nationals Outside the United States, and Attacks on a Federal Facility Resulting in Death''<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=Indictment #S(9) 98 Cr. 1023 |url=https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nys/pressreleases/October12/ChargingDocs/Bin%20Laden.%20Usama%20S7%20Indictment.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226024410/https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nys/pressreleases/October12/ChargingDocs/Bin%20Laden.%20Usama%20S7%20Indictment.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2017 |access-date=6 Feb 2023 |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice}}</ref> for his alleged role in the 1998 embassy attacks. The evidence against Bin Laden included courtroom testimony by former al-Qaeda members and satellite phone records, from a phone purchased for him by al-Qaeda procurement agent [[Ziyad Khaleel]] in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 February 2001 |title=Embassy bombing defendant linked to Bin Laden |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/LAW/02/14/embassy.bombing.02/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226033056/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/LAW/02/14/embassy.bombing.02/index.html |archive-date=26 December 2007 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Profile: Osama bin Laden |url=http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=osama_bin_laden |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229162104/http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=osama_bin_laden |archive-date=29 December 2010 |access-date=16 December 2018 |publisher=Cooperative Research}}</ref> However, the Taliban ruled not to extradite Bin Laden on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence published in the indictments and that non-Muslim courts lacked standing to try Muslims.<ref>{{cite news |date=21 November 1998 |title=Osama bin Laden 'innocent' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/217947.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223030402/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/217947.stm |archive-date=23 December 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Bin Laden became the [[FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1990s|456th person listed]] on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, when he was added on 7 June 1999, following his indictment along with others for [[Capital punishment|capital crimes]] in the 1998 embassy attacks. Attempts at assassination and requests for the extradition of Bin Laden from the Taliban of Afghanistan were met with failure before the bombing of Afghanistan in October 2001.<ref>{{cite news |last=Reeve |first=William |date=21 November 1998 |title=Osama bin Laden 'innocent' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/217947.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114154322/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/217947.stm |archive-date=14 January 2010 |access-date=27 May 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref> In 1999, US President Bill Clinton convinced the United Nations to impose sanctions against Afghanistan in an attempt to force the Taliban to extradite him.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 October 1999 |title=Security Council demands that Taliban turn over Osama bin Laden to appropriate authorities |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1999/19991015.sc6739.doc.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816074745/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1999/19991015.sc6739.doc.html |archive-date=16 August 2013 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref>

In 1999, the CIA, together with Pakistani military intelligence, had prepared a team of approximately 60 Pakistani commandos to infiltrate Afghanistan to capture or kill Bin Laden, but the plan was aborted by the [[1999 Pakistani coup d'état]];<ref name="Woodward&Ricks" /> in 2000, foreign operatives working on behalf of the CIA had fired a [[rocket-propelled grenade]] at a convoy of vehicles in which Bin Laden was traveling through the mountains of Afghanistan, hitting one of the vehicles but not the one in which Bin Laden was riding.<ref name="cbs" />

In 2000, before the September 11 attacks, [[Paul Bremer]] characterized the [[Clinton administration]] as correctly focused on Bin Laden, while [[Robert B. Oakley|Robert Oakley]] criticized their obsession with Osama.<ref name="Loeb" />

=== 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>