IP: Transcript of bin-Laden Tape

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 12:13:07 -0500
> From: "Dorothy E. Denning" <denning () cs georgetown edu>
> Organization: Georgetown University
>
> Transcript of bin Laden video tape
> http://www.msnbc.com/news/672063.asp
>
>
> The following is the English translation of a videotape showing Osama bin
> Laden discussing the Sept. 11 attacks with friends, as supplied by the
> Pentagon:
>
>
>        (Transcript and annotations independently prepared by George Michael,
> translator, Diplomatic Language Services; and Dr. Kassem M. Wahba, Arabic
> language program coordinator, School of Advanced International Studies,
> Johns Hopkins University. They collaborated on their translation and
> compared it with translations done by the U.S. government for consistency.
> There were no inconsistencies in the translations.)
>
>        In mid-November, Usama Bin Laden spoke to a room of supporters,
> possibly in Qandahar, Afghanistan. These comments were video taped with the
> knowledge of Bin Laden and all present.
>
>        Note: The tape is approximately one hour long and contains three
> different segments: an original taping of a visit by some people to the site
> of the downed U.S. helicopter in Ghazni province (approximately 12 minutes
> long); and two segments documenting a courtesy visit by Bin Laden and his
> lieutenants to an unidentified Shaykh, who appears crippled from the waist
> down. The visit apparently takes place at a guesthouse in Qandahar. The
> sequence of the events is reversed on the tape-the end of his visit is in
> the beginning of the tape with the helicopter site visit in the middle and
> the start of the Usama bin Laden visit beginning approximately 39 minutes
> into the tape. The tape is transcribed below according to the proper
> sequence of events.
>        Due to the quality of the original tape, it is NOT a verbatim
> transcript of every word spoken during the meeting, but does convey the
> messages and information flow.
>
>        EDITOR¹S NOTE: 39 minutes into tape, first segment of the bin Laden
> meeting, begins after footage of helicopter site visit
>
>        Shaykh: (...inaudible...) You have given us weapons, you have given
> us hope and we thank Allah for you. We don¹t want to take much of your time,
> but this is the arrangement of the brothers. People now are supporting us
> more, even those ones who
>        did not support us in the past, support us more now. I did not want
> to take that much of your time. We praise Allah, we praise Allah. We came
> from Kabul. We were very pleased to visit. May Allah bless you both at home
> and the camp. We asked the driver to take us, it was a night with a full
> moon, thanks be to Allah. Believe me it is not in the country side. The
> elderly...everybody praises what you did, the great action you did, which
> was first and foremost by the grace of Allah. This is the guidance of Allah
> and the blessed fruit of jihad.
>        UBL: Thanks to Allah. What is the stand of the Mosques there (in
> Saudi Arabia)?
>        Shaykh: Honestly, they are very positive. Shaykh Al-Bahrani
> (phonetic) gave a good sermon in his class after the sunset prayers. It was
> videotaped and I was supposed to carry it with me, but unfortunately, I had
> to leave immediately.
>        UBL: The day of the events?
>        Shaykh: At the exact time of the attack on America, precisely at the
> time. He (Bahrani) gave a very impressive sermon. Thanks be to Allah for his
> blessings. He (Bahrani) was the first one to write at war time. I visited
> him twice in Al-Qasim.
>        UBL: Thanks be to Allah.
>        Shaykh: This is what I asked from Allah. He (Bahrani) told the youth:
> ³You are asking for martyrdom and wonder where you should go (for
> martyrdom)?² Allah was inciting them to go. I asked Allah to grant me to
> witness the truth in front of the unjust ruler. We ask Allah to protect him
> and give him the martyrdom, after he issued the first fatwa. He was detained
> for interrogation, as you know. When he was called in and asked to sign, he
> told them, ³don¹t waste my time, I have another fatwa. If you want me, I can
> sign both at the same time.²
>        UBL: Thanks be to Allah.
>        Shaykh: His position is really very encouraging. When I paid him the
> first visit about a year and half ago, he asked me, ³How is Shaykh
> Bin-Ladin?² He sends you his special regards. As far as Shaykh Sulayman
> ŒUlwan is concerned, he gave a beautiful fatwa, may Allah bless him.
> Miraculously, I heard it on the Quran radio station. It was strange because
> he (ŒUlwan) sacrificed his position, which is equivalent to a director. It
> was transcribed word-by-word. The brothers listened to it in detail. I
> briefly heard it before the noon prayers. He (ŒUlwan) said this was jihad
> and those people were not innocent people (World Trade Center and Pentagon
> victims). He swore to Allah. This was transmitted to Shaykh Sulayman Al
> ((ŒUmar)) Allah bless him.
>        UBL: What about Shaykh Al-((Rayan))?
>        Shaykh: Honestly, I did not meet with him. My movements were truly
> limited.
>        UBL: Allah bless you. You are welcome.
>        Shaykh: (Describing the trip to the meeting) They smuggled us and
> then I thought that we would be in different caves inside the mountains so I
> was surprised at the guest house and that it is very clean and comfortable.
> Thanks be to Allah, we also learned that this location is safe, by Allah¹s
> blessings. The place is clean and we are very comfortable.
>        UBL: (...Inaudible...) when people see a strong horse and a weak
> horse, by nature, they will like the strong horse. This is only one goal;
> those who want people to worship the lord of the people, without following
> that doctrine, will be following the doctrine of Muhammad, peace be upon
> him.
>        (UBL quotes several short and incomplete Hadith verses, as follows):
>        ³I was ordered to fight the people until they say there is no god but
> Allah, and his prophet Muhammad.²
>        ³Some people may ask: why do you want to fight us?²
>        ³There is an association between those who say: I believe in one god
> and Muhammad is his prophet, and those who don¹t (...inaudible...)
>        ³Those who do not follow the true fiqh. The fiqh of Muhammad, the
> real fiqh. They are just accepting what is being said at face value.²
>        UBL: Those youth who conducted the operations did not accept any fiqh
> in the popular terms, but they accepted the fiqh that the prophet Muhammad
> brought. Those young men (...inaudible...) said in deeds, in New York and
> Washington, speeches that overshadowed all other speeches made everywhere
> else in the world. The speeches are understood by both Arabs and
> non-Arabs-even by Chinese. It is above all the media said. Some of them said
> that in Holland, at one of the centers, the number of people who accepted
> Islam during the days that followed the operations were more than the people
> who accepted Islam in the last eleven years. I heard someone on Islamic
> radio who owns a school in America say: ³We don¹t have time to keep up with
> the demands of those who are asking about Islamic books to learn about
> Islam.² This event made people think (about true Islam) which benefited
> Islam greatly.
>        Shaykh: Hundreds of people used to doubt you and few only would
> follow you until this huge event happened. Now hundreds of people are coming
> out to join you. I remember a vision by Shaykh Salih Al-((Shuaybi)). He
> said: ³There will be a great hit and people will go out by hundreds to
> Afghanistan.² I asked him (Salih): ³To Afghanistan?² He replied, ³Yes.²
> According to him, the only ones who stay behind will be the mentally
> impotent and the liars (hypocrites). I remembered his saying that hundreds
> of people will go out to Afghanistan. He had this vision a year ago. This
> event discriminated between the different types of followers.
>        UBL: (...Inaudible...) we calculated in advance the number of
> casualties from the enemy, who would be killed based on the position of the
> tower. We calculated that the floors that would be hit would be three or
> four floors. I was the most optimistic of them all. (...Inaudible...) due to
> my experience in this field, I was thinking that the fire from the gas in
> the plane would melt the iron structure of the building and collapse the
> area where the plane hit and all the floors above it only. This is all that
> we had hoped for.
>        Shaykh: Allah be praised.
>        UBL: We were at (...inaudible...) when the event took place. We had
> notification since the previous Thursday that the event would take place
> that day. We had finished our work that day and had the radio on. It was
> 5:30 p.m. our time. I was sitting with Dr. Ahmad Abu-al-((Khair)).
> Immediately, we heard the news that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.
> We turned the radio station to the news from Washington. The news continued
> and no mention of the attack until the end. At the end of the newscast, they
> reported that a plane just hit the World Trade Center.
>        Shaykh: Allah be praised.
>        UBL: After a little while, they announced that another plane had hit
> the World Trade Center. The brothers who heard the news were overjoyed by
> it.
>        Shaykh: I listened to the news and I was sitting. We didn¹t...we were
> not thinking about anything, and all of a sudden, Allah willing, we were
> talking about how come we didn¹t have anything, and all of a sudden the news
> came and everyone was overjoyed and everyone until the next day, in the
> morning, was talking about what was happening and we stayed until four
> o¹clock, listening to the news every time a little bit different, everyone
> was very joyous and saying ³Allah is great,² ³Allah is great,² ³We are
> thankful to Allah,² ³Praise Allah.² And I was happy for the happiness of my
> brothers. That day the congratulations were coming on the phone non-stop.
> The mother was receiving phone calls continuously. Thank Allah. Allah is
> great, praise be to Allah.
>        (Quoting the verse from the Quran)
>        Shaykh: ³Fight them, Allah will torture them, with your hands, he
> will torture them. He will deceive them and he will give you victory. Allah
> will forgive the believers, he is knowledgeable about everything.²
>        Shaykh: No doubt it is a clear victory. Allah has bestowed on
> us...honor on us...and he will give us blessing and more victory during this
> holy month of Ramadan. And this is what everyone is hoping for. Thank Allah
> America came out of its caves. We hit her the first hit and the next one
> will hit her with the hands of the believers, the good believers, the strong
> believers. By Allah it is a great work. Allah prepares for you a great
> reward for this work. I¹m sorry to speak in your presence, but it is just
> thoughts, just thoughts. By Allah, who there is no god but him. I live in
> happiness, happiness...I have not experienced, or felt, in a long time. I
> remember, the words of Al-Rabbani, he said they made a coalition against us
> in the winter with the infidels like the Turks, and others, and some other
> Arabs. And they surrounded us like the days...in the days of the prophet
> Muhammad. Exactly like what¹s happening right now. But he comforted his
> followers and said, ³This is going to turn and hit them back.² And it is a
> mercy for us. And a blessing to us. And it will bring people back. Look how
> wise he was. And Allah will give him blessing. And the day will come when
> the symbols of Islam will rise up and it will be similar to the early days
> of Al-Mujahedeen and Al-Ansar (similar to the early years of Islam). And
> victory to those who follow Allah. Finally said, if it is the same, like the
> old days, such as Abu Bakr and Othman and Ali and others. In these days, in
> our times, that it will be the greatest jihad in the history of Islam and
> the resistance of the wicked people.
>        Shaykh: By Allah my Shaykh. We congratulate you for the great work.
> Thank Allah.
>
>        Tape ends here
>        Second segment of Bin Laden¹s visit, shows up at the front of the
> tape
>        UBL: Abdallah Azzam, Allah bless his soul, told me not to record
> anything (...inaudible...) so I thought that was a good omen, and Allah will
> bless us (...inaudible...). Abu-Al-Hasan Al-((Masri)), who appeared on
> Al-Jazeera TV a couple of days ago and addressed the Americans saying: ³If
> you are true men, come down here and face us.² (...inaudible...) He told me
> a year ago: ³I saw in a dream, we were playing a soccer game against the
> Americans. When our team showed up in the field, they were all pilots!² He
> said: ³So I wondered if that was a soccer game or a pilot game? Our players
> were pilots.² He (Abu-Al-Hasan) didn¹t know anything about the operation
> until he heard it on the radio. He said the game went on and we defeated
> them. That was a good omen for us.
>        Shaykh: May Allah be blessed.
>        Unidentified Man Off Camera: Abd Al Rahman Al-(Ghamri) said he saw a
> vision, before the operation, a plane crashed into a tall building. He knew
> nothing about it.
>        Shaykh: May Allah be blessed!
>        Sulayman ((Abu Guaith)): I was sitting with the Shaykh in a room,
> then I left to go toanother room where there was a TV set. The TV
> broadcasted the big event. The scene was showing an Egyptian family sitting
> in their living room, they exploded with joy. Do you know when there is a
> soccer game and your team wins, it was the same expression of joy. There was
> a subtitle that read: ³In revenge for the children of Al Aqsa¹, Usama Bin
> Ladin executes an operation against America.² So I went back to the Shaykh
> (meaning UBL) who was sitting in a room with 50 to 60 people. I tried to
> tell him about what I saw, but he made gesture with his hands, meaning: ³I
> know, I knowŠ²
>        UBL: He did not know about the operation. Not everybody knew
> (...inaudible...). Muhammad ((Atta)) from the Egyptian family (meaning the
> Al Qa¹ida Egyptian group), was in charge of the group.
>        Shaykh: A plane crashing into a tall building was out of anyone¹s
> imagination. This was a great job. He was one of the pious men in the
> organization. He became a martyr. Allah bless his soul.
>        Shaykh (Referring to dreams and visions): The plane that he saw
> crashing into the building was seen before by more than one person. One of
> the good religious people has left everything and come here. He told me, ³I
> saw a vision, I was in a huge plane, long and wide. I was carrying it on my
> shoulders and I walked from the road to the desert for half a kilometer. I
> was dragging the plane.² I listened to him and I prayed to Allah to help
> him. Another person told me that last year he saw, but I didn¹t understand
> and I told him I don¹t understand. He said, ³I saw people who left for
> jihad...and they found themselves in New York...in Washington and New York.²
> I said, ³What is this?² He told me the plane hit the building. That was last
> year. We haven¹t thought much about it.
>        But, when the incidents happened he came to me and said, ³Did you
> see...this is strange.² I have another man...my god...he said and swore by
> Allah that his wife had seen the incident a week earlier. She saw the plane
> crashing into a building...that was
>        unbelievable, my god.
>        UBL: The brothers, who conducted the operation, all they knew was
> that they have a martyrdom operation and we asked each of them to go to
> America but they didn¹t know anything about the operation, not even one
> letter. But they were trained and we did not reveal the operation to them
> until they are there and just before they boarded the planes.
>        UBL: (...inaudible...) then he said: Those who were trained to fly
> didn¹t know the others. One group of people did not know the other group.
> (...inaudible...) (Someone in the crowd asks UBL to tell the Shaykh about
> the dream of ((Abu-Da¹ud)).
>        UBL: We were at a camp of one of the brother¹s guards in Qandahar.
> This brother belonged to the majority of the group. He came close and told
> me that he saw, in a dream, a tall building in America, and in the same
> dream he saw Mukhtar teaching them
>        how to play karate. At that point, I was worried that maybe the
> secret would be revealed if everyone starts seeing it in their dream. So I
> closed the subject. I told him if he sees another dream, not to tell
> anybody, because people will be upset with him. (Another person¹s voice can
> be heard recounting his dream about two planes hitting a big building).
>        UBL: They were overjoyed when the first plane hit the building, so I
> said to them: be patient.
>        UBL: The difference between the first and the second plane hitting
> the towers was twenty minutes. And the difference between the first plane
> and the plane that hit the Pentagon was one hour.
>        Shaykh: They (the Americans) were terrified thinking there was a
> coup.
>        [Note: Ayman Al-Zawahri says first he commended UBL¹s awareness of
> what the media is saying. Then he says it was the first time for them
> (Americans) to feel danger coming at them.]
>        UBL (reciting a poem):I witness that against the sharp blade
>        They always faced difficulties and stood together...
>        When the darkness comes upon us and we are bit by a
>        Sharp tooth, I say...
>        ³Our homes are flooded with blood and the tyrant
>        Is freely wandering in our homes²...
>        And from the battlefield vanished
>        The brightness of swords and the horses...
>        And over weeping sounds now
>        We hear the beats of drums and rhythmŠ
>        They are storming his forts
>        And shouting: ³We will not stop our raids
>        Until you free our lands²...
>        Bin Laden visit footage complete. Footage of the visit to the
> helicopter site follows the poem.

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