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.
EDITOR'S 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 don't 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: "You are asking for martyrdom and wonder where you should
go (for martyrdom)?" 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, "don't waste my time, I have another fatwa.
If you want me, I can sign both at the same time."
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, "How is
Shaykh Bin-Ladin?" He sends you his special regards. As far as
Shaykh Sulayman 'Ulwan 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 (' Ulwan) 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 (' Ulwan) 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 ((' Umar)) 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 Allah's 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):
"I was ordered to fight the people until they say there is no
god but Allah, and his prophet Muhammad."
"Some people may ask: why do you want to fight us?"
"There is an association between those who say: I believe in one
god and Muhammad is his prophet, and those who don't (...
inaudible...)
"Those 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."
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: "We don't have time to keep up with the
demands of those who are asking about Islamic books to learn
about Islam." 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: "There will be a great hit and
people will go out by hundreds to Afghanistan." I asked him
(Salih): "To Afghanistan?" He replied, "Yes." 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 didn't...
we were not thinking about anything, and all of a sudden, Allah
willing, we were talking about how come we didn't 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 o'clock, listening
to the news every time a little bit different, everyone was very
joyous and saying "Allah is great," "Allah is great," "We are
thankful to Allah," "Praise Allah." 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: "Fight 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."
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. I'm 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 what's happening right
now. But he comforted his followers and said, "This is going to
turn and hit them back." 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 Laden's 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: "If you
are true men, come down here and face us." (... inaudible...) He
told me a year ago: "I 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!" He said: "So I wondered if that
was a soccer game or a pilot game? Our players were pilots." He
(Abu-Al-Hasan) didn't 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 to another 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: "In revenge for the children of Al Aqsa', Usama Bin Ladin
executes an operation against America." 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: "I know, I know "
UBL: He did not know about the operation. Not everybody knew
(... inaudible...). Muhammad (( Atta)) from the Egyptian family
(meaning the Al Qa'ida Egyptian group), was in charge of the
group.
Shaykh: A plane crashing into a tall building was out of
anyone's 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, "I 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." I listened to him and I prayed to Allah to help him.
Another person told me that last year he saw, but I didn't
understand and I told him I don't understand. He said, "I saw
people who left for jihad... and they found themselves in New
York... in Washington and New York." I said, "What is this?" He
told me the plane hit the building. That was last year. We
haven't thought much about it. But, when the incidents happened
he came to me and said, "Did you see... this is strange." 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 didn't 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 didn't 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-Da'ud)).
UBL: We were at a camp of one of the brother's 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 person's 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 UBL's 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...
"Our homes are flooded with blood and the tyrant Is freely
wandering in our homes"...
And from the battlefield vanished The brightness of swords and
the horses...
And over weeping sounds now We hear the beats of drums and
rhythm
They are storming his forts And shouting: "We will not stop our
raids
Until you free our lands"... Bin Laden visit footage complete.
Footage of the visit to the helicopter site follows the poem.
