Osama bin-Laden Interview, June 1999: Entering the Mind of an Adversary

Osama bin-Laden Interview, June 1999: Entering the Mind of an Adversary

Osama bin-Laden's news medium of choice, the Al-Jazeera television network, has enabled him to converse in a religious style of Arabic used by learned men of theology in Saudi Arabia. Al-Jazeera correspondent Jamal Abdul-Latif Ismail, author of Bin Laden, Al-Jazeera, and I (Bin Laaden wa al-Jazeerah wa Ana) conducted a most insightful interview with Bin-Laden in 1999.1 This essay focuses on excerpts from this interview and helps the reader understand the meaning behind Bin-Laden's words.

Getting the Interview

Ismail begins his book by describing how he obtained interviews with Bin-Laden and the number two al-Qaeda leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Getting to Bin-Laden involved many false starts and required working with contacts in London, Cairo, and Peshawar: an al-Qaeda operative would set up an interview with Ismail then abruptly cancel it. It is important to understand that Ayman Al-Zawahiri and members of his Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) orchestrated media events. Al-Zawahiri, who has a keen understanding of the power of media, imagery, and slogans, is a prolific writer about the past and future of Islamic militancy. His book Knights Under the Prophet's Banner is required reading for those who wish to understand al-Qaeda.2 The book explains the rationale behind Al-Zawahiri's strategic shift from attacking Egypt to directly attacking the United States.

Ismail dealt with several al-Qaeda front men before landing the interview with Bin-Laden. Meetings at hotels and telephone calls at specified times finally resulted in Ismail's contact with Al-Zawahiri via telephone. Ismail was taken to many safe houses and never knew if he was temporarily stopping for a rest or if this was the place his interview would occur. It took 16 months to secure a face-to-face interview with Bin-Laden. Bin-Laden no longer grants personal interviews, no doubt because al-Qaeda used a hit team posing as a television crew on 9 September 2001 to assassinate Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah Masood in Afghanistan. Bin-Laden now videotapes his messages.

Interview and Assessment

Ismail's interview affords much insight into Bin-Laden's ego, mind, and psyche. Bin-Laden uses symbols and imagery that requires interpretation and chooses words carefully to create a mystique and image for Arab audiences. Excerpts from the interview follow:

Ismail: Who is Osama bin-Laden, and what...