USA Today - 08/29/98 -
President Clinton says the United States faces a terrorist war led by Muslim radical Osama bin Laden. Here, in the words of friends and colleagues, is a profile of this new target of American
might, the man blamed for bombing U.S. embassies in Africa.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Osama bin Laden, the Saudi militant being hunted by the United States, is waging holy war against the superpower from rat-infested caves in Afghanistan, armed with unwavering faith, bitter hatred and - some say - a death wish.
But former colleagues say one thing bin Laden is not armed with is hundreds of millions of dollars in inherited wealth. Such reports are exaggerated, these sources say.
The Saudi exile's rage against America began when U.S. troops landed on Saudi Arabia's holy Muslim soil in 1990 to oust Iraq from Kuwait, say former friends and followers of the man blamed by Washington for the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa.
"I'm fighting so I can die a martyr and go to heaven to meet God. Our fight now is against the Americans. I regret having lived until now. I have nothing to lose," bin Laden was quoted as saying
by Abdul-Bari Atwan, Palestinian editor of the Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi.
Atwan and others describe a soft-spoken, modest but charismatic man, infused with the serenity of the deeply devout.
A half-dozen former friends, neighbors and colleagues interviewed about bin Laden would talk only if their names were not used, not wanting to publicize an association with a man who has become
persona non grata almost everywhere.
Beneath bin Laden's calm exterior, they said, lies a burning desire to rid Saudi Arabia of all American influences, a goal that challenges decades of close ties between the Saudi monarchy and Washington.
"Osama sees the world in very simplistic terms, as a struggle between Muslims on one side, and on the other, Jews and Christians bent on oppressing them," said a former confidant. "He will not rest until either the U.S. leaves Saudi Arabia, or he dies trying to make it happen."
During the 1990-91 Gulf conflict, bin Laden tried to dissuade the Saudi government from allowing "infidel" armies into Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's holiest sites. A onetime neighbor says he
presented a 10-page report to Prince Sultan, the Saudi defense minister, describing how he and colleagues could train Saudis to defend themselves and how equipment from his family's large
construction firm could be used to dig trenches on the border with Iraq and lay sand traps against potential invaders.
But the Saudi leadership turned to the United States to protect its vast oil reserves. When he continued criticizing Riyadh's close alliance with Washington, bin Laden was stripped of his citizenship by the Saudi government, which feared his militant brand of Islam.
Before he fell from grace, bin Laden, 44, was a Saudi hero.
For a decade he had fought Soviet occupation forces in Afghanistan as a leader of Arab militants allied with the Afghan Mujaheddin. When he returned home, he was showered with praise and donations and was in demand as a speaker in mosques and homes. More than 250,000 cassettes of his fiery speeches were distributed, selling out as soon as they appeared.
In the now-banned tapes, bin Laden lashed out at U.S. foreign policy and called for a boycott of American goods.
"When we buy American goods, we are accomplices in the murder of Palestinians," he says in one cassette. "American companies make millions in the Arab world with which they pay taxes to their
government. The United States uses that money to send $3 billion a year to Israel, which it uses to kill Palestinians."
After his falling out with Saudi rulers, bin Laden traveled to Africa, seeking refuge in Sudan. But the Sudanese expelled him after they came under pressure from Saudi Arabia and the United States, and he returned to Afghanistan.
Although his anti-Soviet crusade of the 1980s was backed by the United States, he distrusted America even then, say former followers.
"We are in alliance with them now because we have common interests, but they are the enemy of Islam," a Saudi comrade from the Afghan days recalled his saying.
Back on familiar terrain in Afghanistan, the bearded, 6-foot-1 bin Laden prepared for a new holy war - one that would turn him into Washington's No. 1 public enemy.
Planning strategy in damp caves infested with scorpions and rats, bin Laden maintained a disciplined lifestyle, waking up before dawn for prayers, then eating a simple breakfast of cheese and bread. He closely monitored world affairs, especially U.S. foreign policy in the Arab world. Almost daily, he and his men - Egyptians, Yemenis, Saudis, among others - practiced attacks, hurling explosives at targets and shooting at imaginary enemies.
Now he has emerged from the obscurity of the caves to dominate the front pages of newspapers and nightly news across the world. Former friends and journalists who know him say bin Laden enjoys the attention.
"Bin Laden loves publicity. He wants to pass a message to Muslims all over the world, and he needs the media to do it. He is isolated from the outside world and living in a dangerous environment. His
only outlet is the media," says journalist Atwan.
Since last week's U.S. missile attacks on targets linked to bin Laden in Afghanistan and Sudan, dozens of men apparently have tried to enlist in his ranks. Opposition groups say they've received
calls from young Muslims asking how to get in touch with him.
Although press reports have said bin Laden funds his operations through a vast international financial empire, former associates say those claims are exaggerated. Saudi Arabia froze his bank accounts and his $350 million share of his family's multi-billion-dollar empire in 1992. He also lost about $150 million in investments when he was forced to leave Sudan in 1996.
Another blow came when a former key financial aide, Sayed Tayib al-Madani, received a pardon from Saudi Arabia last year in return for exposing some of bin Laden's financial operations.
The Saudi renegade's path to militant Islam began as a teen-ager in the 1970s, when he got caught up in the fundamentalist movement then sweeping Saudi Arabia. He was a voracious reader of Islamic literature and listened to weekly sermons in the holy city of Mecca.
A relative remembers his teen-age passion for religion, evident, for example, when he eloquently addressed a roomful of men at a family funeral.
"He was well-versed in religion and confident speaking in front of all those people. And he was at most 19," said the in-law.
The only son of a Syrian mother, bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia's commercial capital, Jiddah, to a conservative family. Among the 54 children fathered by Mohammed bin Laden, a contracting magnate, Osama quickly developed a reputation as the most pious.
Unlike many of his brothers, bin Laden chose to stay in the kingdom for his education, preferring a more Islamic environment. He graduated in civil engineering from Jiddah's King Abdul-Aziz University.
He married in his early 20s and, despite his vast wealth, chose to live in modest apartments with his wives, says a former neighbor who spoke on condition of anonymity. Today his three wives - a
Syrian and two Saudis - and their 15 or so children live in cities near his bases in Afghanistan.
Throughout his career, bin Laden has led a spartan life. In Sudan, he refused the comfort of air conditioning even in the blistering summer heat.
"I don't want to get used to the easy life," Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi quoted him as saying.
On the Afghan battlefield, he gained a reputation for being a courageous and resourceful commander.
One battle stands out. In 1987, he and his men faced near-impossible odds in the southern province of Paktia. Despite being outnumbered and poorly armed, they defeated the Soviet units. He still proudly shows off an assault rifle said to have been taken from a dead Russian general after that battle. It is an AK-47 he can be seen toting in television interviews.
"He became even more fearless after Paktia," said a former friend. And like others who know bin Laden, this source said he now expects him to fight until the end, "and die in glory." |
