Excerpt: Bin Laden Tape

Excerpt: Bin Laden Tape

Thursday, Dec. 27, 2001


Following is an excerpt of a tape of Osama bin Laden as translated by the U.S. government. In the tape, given to al-Jazeera Satellite Channel Television, bin Laden notes that his statement was made on the three month anniversary of the September 11th attacks, suggesting that he was alive as of early December.

Osama bin Laden: Three months after the blessed strikes against world infidelity and the head of infidelity, namely America, and two months after the fierce crusade against Islam, it gives us pleasure to speak about some of the ramifications of these events. These events have revealed extremely important things to Muslims. It has become clear that the west in general led by America bears an unspeakable crusader grudge against Islam.

Those who lived these months under the continuous bombardment by the various kinds of the U.S. aircraft are well aware of this. Many villages were wiped out without any guilt. Millions of people were expelled during this very cold weather, the oppressed ones of men, women, and children. They now live in tents in Pakistan. The committed no guilt. Although it was a mere suspicion, America launched this fierce campaign.

Those who claim that they are advocates of humanity and freedom we saw here their real crimes. Only a shrapnel is more than enough [to kill] a human being. The weight of this shrapnel is 7 grams. Out of its rancor against the Taliban and Muslims, America dropped on our brothers on the frontlines bombs, weighing 7 tons each.

For those who can calculate, this means 7,000 kilos or 7 million grams while man needs only seven grams, which are more than enough. When the youths -- may God accept them as martyrs -- detonated in Nairobi less than two tons [of explosives], America said that this was a terrorist strike with a weapon of mass destruction. However, it did not refrain from dropping two shells each weighing seven million grams. After bombarding entire villages without any justification but with the purpose of terrorizing people only and making them scared of hosting the Arabs or coming close to them the [U.S.] defense minister stated that this is our right. It is their right to annihilate people so long as they are Muslims and non-American. This is crime per se. It is clear and conspicuous and all the statements you hear them say it was carried out by mistake is pure lies. A few days ago, they hit what the claimed to be al-Qaeda positions in Khost and dropped a guided missile at a mosque. They said that this was a mistake. After investigations, it was confirmed that the ulema were reciting their Ramadan night prayers. They had a meeting after these prayers with the hero struggler Shaykh Jalal-al-Din Haqqani, one of the most prominent former leaders of the jihad against the Soviet Union, who rejected the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. They bombarded the mosque while the Muslims were praying, killing 150. This was their fate but Shaykh Jala was not hurt. May God grant him long life. This is the crusader grudge. Those who repeat words without realizing their consequences would be careful when they say that they condemn terrorism. Our terrorism against America is benign. It seeks to make the unjust stop making injustice. It seeks to make America stop its support for Israel while kills our people.


© 2001 The Washington Post Company