Osama bin Laden In His Own Words
“American people: my speech to you is about the best way of avoiding a repeat performance of Manhattan, as well as the causes and consequences of the war. By way of introduction, let me say that security is an indispensable pillar of human life and that free men do not forfeit their security, contrary to Bush’s claim that we hate freedom. If that were true, then let him explain to us why we do not attack Sweden, for example.
“Freedom haters do not possess defiant spirits like those of the nineteen [hijackers]—may God have mercy on them.
No, we fight because we are free men who do not slumber under oppression. We want to restore freedom to our nation, and just as you lay waste to our nation, so shall we lay waste to yours. Only a witless wrongdoer plays with the security of others and then fools himself into thinking he will be secure, whereas rational people, when disaster strikes, make it their priority to look for its causes.
“And as I looked at those demolished buildings in Lebanon, it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind and destroy the towers of America, so that they could experience some of what we had experienced, and so that they would stop killing our women and children. And that day, I realized that killing innocent women and children is a deliberate American policy. State terrorism is called freedom and democracy, while resistance is terrorism and intolerance. This means that millions of people must suffer oppression and embargo until death results, as inflicted by Bush Sr. in Iraq in the greatest mass slaughter of children ever.
It means millions of children are subjected to mass bombardments because Bush Jr. wanted to overthrow a former ally and replace him with a new puppet to assist in the theft of Iraq’s oil and other crimes.
“The events of September 11 unfolded against this background, as a response to these grave injustices. Can one blame a man who is only defending himself? Is defending oneself, and punishing an aggressor in kind, terrorism? If that is the case, then we had no choice. This is the message I sought to communicate to you in word and deed, repeatedly, for years before September 11.”
— Osama bin Laden in a 2002 “Letter to the American People.”
“Freedom haters do not possess defiant spirits like those of the nineteen [hijackers]—may God have mercy on them.
No, we fight because we are free men who do not slumber under oppression. We want to restore freedom to our nation, and just as you lay waste to our nation, so shall we lay waste to yours. Only a witless wrongdoer plays with the security of others and then fools himself into thinking he will be secure, whereas rational people, when disaster strikes, make it their priority to look for its causes.
“And as I looked at those demolished buildings in Lebanon, it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind and destroy the towers of America, so that they could experience some of what we had experienced, and so that they would stop killing our women and children. And that day, I realized that killing innocent women and children is a deliberate American policy. State terrorism is called freedom and democracy, while resistance is terrorism and intolerance. This means that millions of people must suffer oppression and embargo until death results, as inflicted by Bush Sr. in Iraq in the greatest mass slaughter of children ever.
It means millions of children are subjected to mass bombardments because Bush Jr. wanted to overthrow a former ally and replace him with a new puppet to assist in the theft of Iraq’s oil and other crimes.
“The events of September 11 unfolded against this background, as a response to these grave injustices. Can one blame a man who is only defending himself? Is defending oneself, and punishing an aggressor in kind, terrorism? If that is the case, then we had no choice. This is the message I sought to communicate to you in word and deed, repeatedly, for years before September 11.”
— Osama bin Laden in a 2002 “Letter to the American People.”
