Why Osama bin Laden Attacked the US

Summary

This script delves into the complex motivations behind Osama Bin Laden's obsession with attacking the United States. Born into wealth and privilege in Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden's radicalization began with his fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. His grievances evolved to include opposition to the US presence in Saudi Arabia and a broader anti-Western stance. The script explores various factors, from regional conflicts to perceived American immorality, that may have fueled his hatred, suggesting that the US military's presence in the holy land of Saudi Arabia was a pivotal trigger for his anti-American militancy.

Takeaways

• 🔫 Osama Bin Laden is infamous for orchestrating attacks against the United States and its allies, culminating in his death by Seal Team 6 in 2011.
• 🏛️ Unlike many terrorists, Bin Laden was not driven by desperation but was born into wealth and luxury as the son of a billionaire construction magnate.
• 📚 He was initially a mild-mannered student of economics and business, with interests in poetry, military history, and soccer.
• ✈️ His radicalization began after he joined the fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in 1979, initially with no animosity towards the US.
• 🔄 Bin Laden's motivations shifted over time, with his later anti-Western stance leading to the revocation of his Saudi citizenship.
• 🌍 He cited various global conflicts involving Muslims as reasons for his actions, though his connections to these were often tenuous.
• 🕋 The presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, which he viewed as an invasion of holy Muslim land, is considered a significant factor in his turn against the US.
• 🗣️ Bin Laden's public statements after 9/11 included new grievances, such as criticism of American domestic policies and morality.
• 🎥 His videotaped messages became a platform for Bin Laden to articulate his grievances and potentially rally support from certain quarters.
• 🔍 The complexity of Bin Laden's motivations suggests that there was no single reason behind his actions, reflecting a mix of personal, political, and ideological factors.

Q & A

Why was Osama Bin Laden obsessed with attacking the United States?

Osama Bin Laden's obsession with attacking the United States was driven by a complex mix of factors, including his perception of American foreign policy as oppressive towards Muslims, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, which he viewed as an invasion of holy Muslim land.

How did Osama Bin Laden's upbringing influence his later radicalism?

Osama Bin Laden was born into a wealthy and devoutly religious family in Saudi Arabia. Despite his privileged upbringing, his radicalism may have been influenced by his family's religious beliefs and his own experiences, including fighting against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

What was the turning point for Bin Laden's shift towards anti-Western radicalism?

The turning point for Bin Laden's shift towards anti-Western radicalism was likely the US military presence in Saudi Arabia during and after the Gulf War. Bin Laden viewed this as an invasion of holy Muslim land and a humiliation to the Saudi people.

What role did the Israeli-Palestinian conflict play in Bin Laden's motivations?

While Bin Laden cited the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a reason for his attacks, it was not a consistent theme in his earlier rhetoric. It is possible that he used this conflict to gain support from countries in the region after the 9/11 attacks.

How did the Gulf War and subsequent sanctions on Iraq impact Bin Laden's views?

The Gulf War and the subsequent sanctions on Iraq, which led to widespread suffering, angered Bin Laden. He mentioned the sanctions in his 1998 fatwa against Americans, accusing the US of killing over a million Iraqis through these measures.

What were some of the other conflicts mentioned by Bin Laden in his manifesto?

In his manifesto, Bin Laden mentioned conflicts involving Muslims worldwide, such as Russia's oppression of Chechen Muslims, the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan, the Philippine government's conflict with Muslim groups, and Israel's northern border conflict with Lebanon.

Why did Bin Laden's complaints about America's domestic conduct come later in his rhetoric?

Bin Laden's complaints about America's domestic conduct, such as support for gay rights and gambling, came later in his rhetoric and may have been an attempt to set Americans against each other and gain more support from those who shared similar conservative views.

How did the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia become a central issue for Bin Laden?

The presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia became a central issue for Bin Laden because he viewed it as an invasion of holy Muslim land. This was the only motivation he consistently returned to in his fatwas and statements.

What was the impact of Bin Laden's loss of Saudi citizenship on his status and operations?

The loss of his Saudi citizenship due to his anti-Western radicalism led to Bin Laden becoming stateless, which forced him to find refuge in countries like Sudan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. This likely increased his reliance on local networks and made his operations more clandestine.

How did Bin Laden's motivations evolve over time, and what factors contributed to these changes?

Bin Laden's motivations evolved from initially fighting against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan to a broader anti-Western stance. Factors contributing to these changes included his perception of US foreign policy, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Origins of Osama Bin Laden's Radicalism

Osama Bin Laden is infamous for orchestrating attacks against the United States and its allies. Contrary to common perceptions of terrorists, Bin Laden was not driven by desperation but by a radical ideology. Born in 1957 into a wealthy Saudi family, he inherited at least $25 million from his father, a billionaire construction magnate. Despite a comfortable upbringing and a university education in economics and business, Bin Laden's path to radicalism began after he joined the fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in 1979. Initially, his efforts aligned with Western interests, including receiving support from the United States. However, his motivations shifted over time, leading to a series of escalating terrorist attacks against US interests and a dramatic change in his status in the world.

05:03

🌐 Complex Motivations Behind Bin Laden's Anti-Western Stance

Bin Laden's radicalization was multifaceted, with various global conflicts contributing to his anti-Western stance. He cited the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Gulf War, and other regional disputes involving Muslim populations as reasons for his actions. However, these grievances were not always consistent, and some, like his criticism of American domestic policies, appeared to be added after he became a public enemy. The most significant factor in his radicalization was likely the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia during and after the Gulf War. Bin Laden viewed this as an invasion of holy Muslim land, despite the troops being invited by the Saudi government for regional security. This issue was the only one he consistently returned to in his fatwas and public statements, indicating it was a central motivation for his war against America.

10:07

🔎 Further Exploration of Bin Laden's Life and Legacy

For those interested in delving deeper into the life of Osama Bin Laden, there are resources available that explore his early beginnings and the events leading to his rise as a terrorist leader. Additionally, there are detailed accounts of the operation that led to his capture and death by Seal Team 6, providing a comprehensive view of his life's trajectory and the measures taken to bring him to justice.

Keywords

💡Osama Bin Laden

Osama Bin Laden was the founder of Al Qaeda, a terrorist organization responsible for numerous attacks, including the September 11 attacks on the United States. The video script discusses his background, motivations, and the transformation from a wealthy Saudi businessman's son to a radical figure. His obsession with attacking the United States is a central theme of the video, with Bin Laden's actions and beliefs being the driving force behind the narrative.

💡Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda is a militant Islamist organization founded by Osama Bin Laden in 1988. It is known for its acts of terrorism and extremism, aiming to establish a pan-Islamic Caliphate. The script mentions Al Qaeda as the organization that sponsored training for Bin Laden's henchmen and was central to his radical activities.

💡SEAL Team 6

SEAL Team 6, officially known as United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), is a special operations force of the United States Navy. The video script recounts the historic operation in 2011 where SEAL Team 6 conducted a raid in Pakistan that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden, marking a significant event in the war on terror.

💡Terrorism

Terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, to achieve political aims. The video script explores Bin Laden's motivations for engaging in terrorism, including his radicalization and the various conflicts that influenced his actions.

💡Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is an Arab country in Western Asia, and it is where Osama Bin Laden was born and raised. The script discusses his family's wealth and status in Saudi society, as well as the country's relationship with the United States, which became a point of contention for Bin Laden.

💡Mujaheddin

The Mujaheddin were Afghan Islamic warriors who fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Bin Laden joined the Mujaheddin, and the script suggests that this was a turning point in his life, moving him towards radicalism.

💡Gulf War

The Gulf War refers to the 1990-1991 conflict between Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, and a coalition of 35 nations, led by the United States. The script mentions the Gulf War as a significant event that influenced Bin Laden's views, particularly his opposition to the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia after the war.

💡Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is an ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians in the region of Palestine. The video script discusses how Bin Laden cited this conflict as a reason for his attacks on the United States, although it was not a focus of his rhetoric prior to 9/11.

💡Radicalism

Radicalism refers to the holding of political views that are very different from the accepted opinions and that often involve the use of extreme measures to achieve goals. The script explores how Bin Laden's radical beliefs developed and how they were fueled by various global conflicts and his perception of Western influence in the Muslim world.

💡Cultural Critic

In the context of the video, Bin Laden is described as a 'cultural critic' when he criticized American domestic policies and values, such as support for gay rights and gambling, which he saw as immoral. This criticism was used to rally support and create division, as mentioned in the script.

💡US Troops in Saudi Arabia

The presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War was a significant factor in Bin Laden's radicalization, as discussed in the script. He viewed their presence as an invasion of holy Muslim land, which became a central theme in his fatwas and a driving force behind his anti-American stance.

Highlights

Osama Bin Laden is known for his obsession with attacking the United States and its allies.

Bin Laden was not driven by desperation but came from a wealthy background.

He was born in 1957 as a son of Mohammed bin Laden, a billionaire construction magnate.

Bin Laden inherited at least $25 million from his father, ensuring a life of luxury.

He was a mild-mannered economics and business student in the 1970s.

Bin Laden's radicalism began after he went to Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet Union in 1979.

Initially, Bin Laden's interests aligned with those of the western countries, including the US.

His turn to anti-west radicalism led to his Saudi citizenship being revoked.

Bin Laden's motivation for attacking the US became clearer in his videotapes after 9/11.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was cited by Bin Laden as a reason for the 9/11 attacks.

Bin Laden's manifesto mentioned various conflicts involving Muslims around the world.

He accused the US of aiding groups that oppressed Muslims, despite little evidence of direct involvement.

Bin Laden criticized America's domestic conduct, including support for gay rights and other perceived immoralities.

The presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, invited to protect from Saddam Hussein, angered Bin Laden.

Bin Laden viewed the voluntary presence of US troops on Saudi soil as an invasion of holy Muslim land.

The US presence in Saudi Arabia was the only motivation Bin Laden consistently returned to in his fatwas.

Ironically, Bin Laden's reason for declaring war on America may have been his home country inviting US troops in for protection.

Transcripts

Osama Bin Laden went down in history for his  obsession with attacking the United States and  

its allies - never giving up his mad quest until  he was finally gunned down by Seal Team 6 in 2011.

But why was this terrorist mastermind so obsessed  

with the United States? Why did he  attack the US in the first place?

If you ask many intellectuals, they’ll tell you  that most terrorists aren’t powerful criminals,  

but rather people driven by desperation to  strike out against a government they view  

as oppressing them. This applied  to many of Bin Laden’s henchmen,  

who were sponsored by Al Qaeda’s inner  circle to train in its terror camps.

But it did NOT apply to Osama Bin Laden.

Osama grew up in Saudi Arabia, in the lap of  luxury as the son of Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden.  

To say that the elder Bin Laden was a success  would be putting it lightly - he was a billionaire  

construction magnate who ensured his family was  well taken care of - his very large family at  

that! Osama Bin Laden was born in 1957 as a son  of Mohammed bin Laden’s tenth wife. In total,  

his father had 52 children. His mother divorced  the billionaire soon after Osama was born,  

but Osama would ultimately inherit at  least $25 million dollars from his father.

So he was well taken care of - but  where did his radicalism begin?

The Bin Laden family was devoutly religious,  but followed a mainstream version of the  

Sunni Muslim faith. They were well  assimilated into the Saudi culture,  

and no one would expect one of the clan to become  an infamous terrorist. He didn’t follow a career  

path that would lead to extremism either - if you  knew him back in the 1970s, you would know him as  

a mild-mannered economics and business student in  King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. He graduated,  

although reports vary on what he majored in. But  we do know he briefly attended a class at Oxford.  

Those who knew him reported he was passionate  about poetry, military history, and soccer.

So how did it all go so horribly wrong?

It all started when he left college in 1979  and went to Afghanistan to fight against…the  

Soviet Union. The invasion of Afghanistan had  galvanized him to become a political radical,  

but he had no reason to hate the  United States at that point. In fact,  

the United States and Soviet Union were  bitter enemies. The groups he worked with,  

like the Mujaheddin, even received financial  support from the United States as they battled  

to hold the Soviets at bay. The Saudis provided  support against the Soviets as well, and it seemed  

like Bin Laden’s interests were well in line  with those of the larger western countries.

But then something changed.

By the time Osama Bin Laden became a public name  in the west due to a series of escalating terror  

attacks against US interests, his motivation had  dramatically changed - and so had his status in  

the world. His turn to anti-west radicalism had  led to his Saudi citizenship being revoked. After  

all, the Saudis greatly valued their alliance  with the United States, particularly due to  

their rivalry with Iran, and they didn’t want  to be associated with a wild card. Bin Laden  

found himself a stateless terrorist, finding  refuge in countries including Sudan, Pakistan,  

and Afghanistan - and he would only surface  occasionally to make threatening videotapes.

And on those videotapes, his  motivation started to become clearer.

What turned the son of a Saudi billionaire  construction magnate into a terrorist  

radical? Bin Laden gave many explanations  - and not all of them really matched up.

Not long after the 9/11 attacks, Bin Laden  released his first new videotape taking credit for  

the attacks - and he singled out one main reason  for the attack. This was the Israeli-Palestinian  

conflict, which had been raging for over fifty  years at that point. If you asked the Israelis,  

they had fended off a genocidal war of  invasion against a newborn country and  

taken the territory they needed to defend  themselves. If you asked the Palestinians  

or the surrounding Arab states, they had been  expelled from their territory by newcomers  

to the region and had been fighting  to get their lands back ever since.

But was this regional conflict  enough to create a global war?

In a word, probably not. While the  Israeli-Palestinian conflict always  

makes emotions run high - just ask anyone in  the comments section in an article about Gal  

Gadot - it was also a relatively small-scale  conflict. The conflict over the Al Aqsa Mosque  

and the Jewish temple mount was likely the most  concerning to a religious zealot like Bin Laden,  

but there was one problem with the idea that  this was his motivation - prior to this video,  

he had never mentioned the conflict before!  The odds are that after striking his biggest  

blow yet against the US and becoming  public enemy #1, he was hoping that  

bringing up this hot topic would get him  more support from countries in the region.

But other conflicts may have had  more to do with his radicalization.

The Gulf War was one of the largest conflicts  of the 1990s, with the United States ultimately  

stopping Saddam Hussein’s invasion of  Kuwait - but leaving the Iraqi dictator  

in power. Saddam was infamous for his brutal  treatment of minority groups like the Kurds,  

and frequently attacked US planes entering  his airspace. Iraqi forces even attempted  

to assassinate former President George HW  Bush shortly after he left office. So the  

UN imposed sanctions on Iraq as long  as Saddam refused to cooperate with  

international authorities - and this led to a  trade embargo and widespread suffering in Iraq.

And that was enough to get Bin Laden deeply angry.

He first mentioned the sanctions in his  1998 fatwa against Americans, claiming  

that over a million Iraqis had been killed by the  sanctions and saying that targeting civilians was  

permissible due to this carnage. But Bin Laden  had no direct ties to the Iraqis and had never  

fought in the country - and in fact, Saddam  was a very different sort of radical to him.  

Saddam led a military dictatorship that had no  real alliance with Islamic radical groups - and  

when he was deposed by the United States a few  years later, it created an opening for Al Qaeda  

in the country! So Bin Laden basing his entire  worldview around this issue would seem unlikely.

But other conflicts were on his radar as well.

Bin Laden’s manifesto also mentioned countless  conflicts regarding Muslims in the world. They  

included Russia’s oppression of the Chechen Muslim  minority in the Soviet Union, the ongoing border  

conflict in Kashmir between Hindu India and  Muslim Pakistan, the Philippine government’s  

conflict with Muslim groups, and Israel’s ongoing  northern border conflict with Lebanon. In each of  

these cases, Bin Laden said the United States  was aiding these groups to oppress Muslims.

There was just one problem with that…

The US had little to nothing to do with any of  these conflicts! While they were allies with  

some of the countries, the government had little  to do with them. In Russia’s assault on Chechnya,  

the US had frosty relations with its  geopolitical rival at best - even after the  

fall of the Soviet Union. The one exception was  Bin Laden’s mention of the conflict in Somalia,  

where US involvement led to a bloody conflict  that was immortalized in the movie Black Hawk  

Down. But none of these were conflicts  that were particularly close to Bin Laden,  

and his inclusion of them started to look more  like a list of grievances than a smoking gun.

He had one complaint that didn’t match the others  

though- and this one might have some  right-wing Americans nodding along.

In his 2002 “Letter to America”, his first  time communicating with the outside world  

after the 9/11 attacks, he decided to broaden  his complaints to America’s domestic conduct.  

But he didn’t accuse them of oppressing Muslim  Americans - instead, he went on a rant about  

America’s immorality. Some of his complaints  included the country’s support of promiscuous sex,  

gay rights, alcohol and drugs, and gambling.  He also oddly complained about trading with  

interest - prohibited in Islam, but  common in banking around the world.

Was Osama Bin Laden suddenly  becoming a culture-critic?

While many anti-American radicals do criticize  America’s domestic policies in addition to its  

foreign policies while not being fully fleged  terrorists - this apears to be another case  

like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict where Bin  Laden seemed to generate a new grievance after  

the attacks that put him on the world stage. It’s  unlikely that this was his primary grievance that  

motivated his attacks, but a savvy propagandist  like Bin Laden might have put it in the manifesto  

to set Americans against each other. After all, if  right-wing Americans start blaming the gay rights  

movement for terror attacks, maybe they’ll  be too busy fighting each other to find him.

But most experts believe one factor  motivated him more than any other.

The year was 1991, and Saddam Hussein had  invaded the oil-rich Persian Gulf state  

of Kuwait. Even though we’ve already  discovered that Saddam Hussein didn’t  

fully support Bin Laden’s cause, the roots of  his rage may be tied to that war anyway. The  

US and Saudi Arabia were closely aligned,  and the Saudis quickly invited US troops  

onto their soil to launch their attacks  on Iraq from there - and to provide some  

insurance in case Saddam decides to  take his quest for oil even further.

And when the war ended, the US stuck around.

From 1992 to 2003, the US had around five  thousand troops stationed in Saudi Arabia,  

mostly to conduct air operations over  Iraq. While Saddam had been pushed back,  

there had never been any formal peace agreement  and he continued to behave aggressively towards  

his neighbors. This was something the  Saudis agreed to and in fact invited - their  

security was endangered by Saddam as well, and  business relations with the US were important  

to both countries. The US presence was vital to  protecting the shipping lanes of the Persian gulf.

So why did this fill Bin Laden with rage?

Simple - the US agreed, the Saudis agreed - but  no one asked him! While most people involved felt  

that the security benefits were worth it, Osama  bin Laden viewed even the voluntary presence of  

US troops on Saudi soil as an invasion of  holy Muslim land. While the troops were  

nowhere near the sacred cities of Mecca and  Medina, they were too close for this radical.

And there is ample evidence that  this might have been the trigger  

that turned him into an anti-American militant.

For one thing, it was the only motivation  mentioned in the very first fatwa he issued  

in 1996 - demanding the US evacuate Saudi Arabia.  Two years later, he referred to it as an invasion,  

in which the United States had been plundering  the country and humiliating its people. He  

believed it was a staging ground for  an assault on the entire Muslim world,  

and repeatedly accused the Americans of  being too close to Mecca. The US presence  

in Saudi Arabia would eventually end when the  second war with Iraq began, due to the Saudis  

opposing that conflict, but this was the only  motivation that Bin Laden kept coming back to.

Which means ironically, Osama Bin Laden’s reason  for wanting to declare war on America may have  

been that his home country invited them in - to  protect them from a hostile neighbor. Of course,  

if you ask ten people why Osama bin Laden  hated America, you’ll probably get ten  

answers - and most of them will reflect  the person’s opinions more than the truth.

Want to learn more about Osama bin  Laden’s beginnings? Check out “How  

the CIA Funded a Terrorist Organization”,  or watch “How SEAL Team Tracked Down Osama  

Bin Laden (Minute By Minute)”  for how it all came to an end.